Lumos Invictus: Sands of Ages
by BladedDragon
Summary: They defeated Andariel, but what will happen to Chyemme and Piricus as they venture forth against the prime evils into the sands of ages?
1. Chapter 1

Chyemme

I watched out the back of our caravan as the land rolled by. It had been nearly been three days since the trees of the mountains and foothills had given way to sand. Almost abruptly, the cool, shady breeze of the rogue lands had faded into a new, scorching, blistering heat.

"When we stop next you might want to change clothes," I advised Cloudyous in his fur trappings, whom merely shrugged.

"The elements, be they sun, moon, or sky don't really bother me. I am just as apt for the heat as I am for the cold," he assured me.

"Speak for yourself," Vendra said bluntly. "This heat is killing me," she complained as she rolled up her sleeves and pulled up her robes to reveal quite a bit of colored flesh.

"Keep your clothes on, sorceress, that's not a sight I want to see," Piricus said rudely.

"Heaven knows how much what you want means to me," Vendra snapped. " But I'm not going to suffer for the sake of looking good," she hissed at him.

"Finally, you said something sensible," he said snidely.

"Shut up jackass, this trip is too long to be stuck anywhere near you," she scowled.

"Likewise," he growled at her.

"Piricus, are you really leaving once we hit Lut Gholein?" I asked, unsure how to feel.

"I told you I would drop your ass as soon as my feet hit the sand, remember? That was our deal and as far as I go," he answered bluntly.

"Don't tell me you're going to miss him, Chyemme?" Vendra said sarcastically.

"We could really use his help, considering what we're up against," I pointed out.

"That true," said Sovellis, "we need all help we get."

Piricus scoffed. "Saving the universe is for heroes-let me rephrase that- bleeding-heart, philanthropist morons like the paladin. I could care less what happens to the majority of humanity," he said coldly.

"Well a majority of humanity effects you too, jackass," Vendra pointed out.

"Mankind deserves its fate," Piricus said bluntly.

"You not think that way when doom upon us," Sovellis admitted.

"Regardless of your little crusade I have better things to do, other asses to kick," he said sharply.

"Good riddance then, jackass. If it were up to me, you would walk the rest of the way to Lut Gholein," Vendra hissed at him.

"Well, it's not up to you, bitch. Nothing should be up to you and your empty mind," he laughed rudely.

"It takes a keen intellect to be in the Zhan-Esu, jackass," she growled.

"Anyone with a book can sling a spell," Piricus said snidely. "I've seen enough inferior magic and incompetent mages to know. You have a fancy title, apprentice, that's all," Piricus responded nastily, emphasizing the word "apprentice".

"I kicked Andariel's ass, more than I can say for you," Vendra said defensively and with pride.

"And you almost lost your soul. Magic serves you, not the other way around," Piricus said rudely.

"I'm here, aren't I?" Vendra snapped.

"I agree with him," said Cloudyous solemnly. "What you did was dangerous."

"I didn't have a choice," Vendra insisted.

"I know that," I comforted, "And I wanted to thank you for taking the risk and saving our lives."

Vendra's expression softened. "I'm glad somebody appreciates me," she said simply.

"You're right about one thing though," I said with a laugh and unclasped my shoulder armor, "It's stuffy in here."

"I wouldn't armor down until we get there, amazon. You have no idea what could happen any moment from now," Piricus warned.

"Don't worry," I assured him, "I still am and always will be on my guard."

"It's impossible to be on guard every second and for that reason you should-" he began just as the caravan suddenly lurched sideways and the oxen brayed wildly.

"What the hell-?" Piricus snapped in surprise as some powerful force broadsided us and our wagon fell sideways.

I could hear confused shouting from all around us and the panicked sound of the frantic caravan oxen. I grunted in discomfort as Piricus fell directly on top of me from where his end of the caravan had gone up in the air. Vendra fell right beside me and Sovellis twisted so that she didn't land directly on him, just enough to break her fall.

Belthem growled and in one solid movement, he ducked under Cloudyous' falling form, so that his cushioned scruff softened his blow. As it was, Cloudyous hit his arm and let out a loud yelp and a curse.

"What's going on?" I yelled in confusion as a deafening roar drown out my voice.

Vendra yelped too as all of a sudden our caravan flew up to the air as if it were nothing more than a fallen leaf. Bibo squawked and flailed wildly, trying desperately to fly, but she only hobbled at best.

"Stay down!" Cloudyous yelled as loud as he could and I could barely hear him above the din.

He didn't really have to tell us, right before our very eyes the top of our wagon was peeled off and sand, sharp as razors sprayed everywhere. It soon became apparent that we were caught in the middle of a violent sandstorm.

"We'll be buried alive!" Vendra shouted in panic, and she shot her hand out the same time as Sovellis. A bright, blue bubble burst around us, shielding us from the whipping barrage. Wave after wave of sand hit the shield and I could see that it was taking a toll of Sovellis, his muscles strained and his face contorted. Vendra, on the other hand, didn't seem phased, she seemed confused. She kept looking at the shield as if there were something wrong with it.

"Do something! We not hold this for long!" Sovellis insisted of us at large.

Piricus grumbled and rolled off me. He threw his hands up to conjure a bone shield, but Cloudyous stopped him."That won't help," he insisted and rolled to his knees.

"Idiot!" Vendra shouted. "Don't stand up!"

"Trust me," Cloudyous replied loudly and with some help from Belthem he stood up. He grabbed a pendant of interwoven feathers from around his neck and hoisted it into the air. He chanted loudly in some language I didn't recognize and I could feel the energy wash out of him. Without warning, he was suddenly pulled off his feet into the air, beyond the mana shield. He disappeared in a whirlwind of sand.

"CLOUDYOUS!" I yelled frantically, mimicking Bibo's terrified screeching.

"I hold no more!" Sovellis shouted as his arm wobbled dangerously. "Vendra . . ." he said desperately.

There was a strange look on Vendra's face I'd never seen before. "I'm trying!" she insisted desperately.

"Damn it," Piricus growled and he lunged his hand into one of the bags that had fallen on him.

He shuffled around for something I couldn't see and then he tossed something at Vendra and Sovellis. Vendra caught it, and gave him an odd look.

"Cover up sorceress!" He snapped harshly.

She scowled. "Honestly jackass, I'm not showing anyth-"

"No! Grab Sovellis and cover up!" I shouted realizing that it was a blanket that Piricus had tossed them.

He went to remove another one and without warning, the wind blew it away from us, leaving myself and Piricus exposed.

"What now?" I asked, fighting back panic.

"Calm down," Piricus snapped, and pulled back his sleeves. Out of the mass of sand came long, white bones. Incredibly, they interlocked with the framework of the caravan and formed a solid roof over our heads just as the mana shield gave out. The sand hit us so hard I could physically feel the pressure. The bones creaked dangerously and cracked some under the weight.

"Hurry up, druid," Piricus hissed as he put more of his own energy into the bones, trying to sustain them. Sand began pouring through the gaps in the bones in trickles. I flinched as those trickles became streams. I coughed as sand landed in my face. As a reflex, I reached behind me and grabbed my shield, throwing it up over my head. Sand hit it, pounding out a rhythm.

"By Trag 'Oul I've never met a more unlucky group of people," Piricus hissed. "I've had more problems in the last three months than I've ever had in my life . . ." he groaned as he struggled to hold the shield.

"Did you ever think it might be you that's unlucky?" I retorted with mild humor.

"Be quiet amazon, or I'll drop your part of this shield," he growled.

"It's coming down soon anyway," I observed grimly.

Piricus didn't say anything, he was too concentrated on what he was doing. Like Sovellis, he struggled, strained and then scowled. "DAMN!" he roared and in a split second the bones broke apart, blasted smooth by the sands.

The wind howled and gritty earth smashed into our bodies. I struggled with my shield and grabbed Piricus, pulling him under it as well.

I flinched and closed my eyes. In a mere second, the sound suddenly died away and the wind calmed to a warm breeze. I looked up as Vendra and Sovellis threw off their cover. All of us poured out of the sandy wagon into the day as fast as we could. We barely had enough time to see Cloudyous suspended in the air, casting out a silver glow all around him. He shuddered, then his eyes closed, and he fell out of the sky. Belthem ran to him, but was slowed by the sand. I thought he was going to hit the sand, when Scorpious came out of nowhere and caught him.

"Scorpious," I breathed. "Thank Zerae."

"Damn it," Piricus growled. "He's still alive."

"Chyemme!" I heard Ryelass yell to me as he came running over. "Is everyone alright?"

"Yes, we're fine. What about you guys?" I asked.

"We're alright," Laurella breathed in relief as she surfaced into view. "Maria got us to cover up just in time, and you should have seen it! Scorpious was actually able to keep the sand off of us!"

"I hate sand," Alminus grumbled. "And the heat too."

"Cut your griping barbarian, after this I don't think anyone likes sand," Piricus growled, brushing himself off.

Alminus grumbled at him, but didn't say anything. Maria walked over to us, waving sand out of her short hair. "Everyone here?" she asked, looking around.

"Yes," Vendra said bluntly and quickly. Maria gave her an odd look and looked her over.

Vendra scowled at her. "What are you looking at?" she hissed defensively.

Maria raised an eyebrow. "Nothing," she said plainly, though she seemed to be deep in thought.

Belthem whined and finally made his way through the sand over to Cloudyous. I heard a ruckus from inside the caravan and realized that we had left Bibo in there. Feeling sorry for her in her injured state, I went back inside and with some effort, managed to calm her down enough to let me carry her.

"How is he?" I asked Scorpious as I walked over. Bibo squawked and struggled fiercely in my hands, trying to get to him. "Be still!" I reprimanded her gently as her worried vocalizing became one of pain as she stretched her injured wing.

Scorpious took a flask at his side and opened the lid. "He's physically fine, just out cold. It must have taken a lot of energy for him to quell a storm that size. We should all thank him when he wakes up, I doubt any of us would have survived that just now," he said grimly.

"But Laurella said you-" I began and Scorpious shook his head.

"Even my strength has limits, but today is not the day it gives out thanks to Cloudyous' courage," he replied as he poured some water onto Cloudyous' face.

Our druid friend remained motionless, despite the liquid. Belthem whined and nuzzled the side of his face, and licked his ear. He twitched, but didn't come to. Bibo continued to struggle and squawk until I almost couldn't restrain her.

"Pluck the stupid pigeon, amazon. Maybe then she'll listen to you," Piricus said sarcastically as he watched me.

Maria walked over and in one swift movement, she raked two of her fingers on the back of Bibo's neck, directly at the base, putting a fair amount of pressure there. Within that very second, Bibo went limp in my grasp.

"What did you do to her?" I asked, concerned.

"I used her pressure points to knock her unconscious. She'll be out for a good while," Maria announced.

"Wow, you can knock someone out just by touching them?" Laurella asked in awe.

"It's harder than it looks," Maria said plainly. "You have to have an expert knowledge of anatomy. If you're off even by a hair it won't work."

"Still, that's pretty amazin', Maria," Alminus said with a smile.

"You'll have to teach me," Ryelass nodded.

Maria sighed. "It takes a while to learn. But," she continued, "it has more uses than just incapacitation. Watch this," she said and walked over to Cloudyous, and knelt by him. She placed two fingers into the crook of his shoulder and twisted. He opened his eyes the very next second.

"Wow," I said, amazed. That was definitely a talent I wanted to learn.

Cloudyous groaned. "How long was I out for?" he asked, dazed.

"Only a few minutes, thankfully," Scorpious answered.

Cloudyous looked around himself. "The storm is calm then? Good. Guys," he began gravely, "I've never met a wind that angry. She was all wrath and no balance," he informed as if he were talking about a person.

"She? That storm was alive?" Laurella asked.

Cloudyous nodded. "Everything is alive, Laurella. Even the sand. But, we best be on our guard. Something seriously angered Dera, the desert wind. I tried to communicate with her, but all I got was a mass of jumbled feelings, and unpleasant ones at that. She was so infuriated, she was beyond words," he informed seriously.

"You don't have any idea what it was?" I asked, listening intently.

Cloudyous shook his head. "No. I've never been unable to communicate with the winds before . . . . it was all I could do to get her to leave. I pleaded with her in every language I knew until I was finally able to reach her with the language of birds. Honestly, I didn't think we were going to survive for a few moments. This disturbs me greatly, I'll have to investigate this when we get to Lut Gholein. Maybe some of the magi there will have some answers or at least news of current world events. What happened to Bibo? Is she alright?" Cloudyous asked suddenly, eyeing his companion in my arms.

"I incapacitated her, she was becoming a danger to herself and others," Maria assured. "She will be just fine when she comes to."

Cloudyous nodded. "She was terrified. She begged me not to face Dera, she knew something wasn't right."

"I'll say! Are you all alright?" Came the deep voice of Warriv as he came trotting over.

"We're fine, thanks to Cloudyous," I assured. "We're all accounted for."

Warriv nodded, then sighed. "If only everyone had been so fortunate," he said mournfully.

"How many people did we lose?" Maria asked grimly.

"Six. Two of them were carried off by the wind and the other four were buried alive, I have no idea where they are."

Scorpious bowed his head reverently. "If our condition is not dire, then we should hold a service for them."

Piricus scoffed. "Paladin, we need to get moving before any more of the druid's irate acquaintances decide to show up. We don't have time to be building shrines in the desert."

"Have a heart," Laurella pleaded.

"He does," Ryelass hissed, "and it's made of rock-solid ice."

"Better than glass," Piricus laughed mockingly.

"Lord Scorpious, that would be much appreciated. Anything you can do to lay the souls of the deceased to rest. At any rate, we've lost a quarter of our oxen, so we'll have to reconstitute our belongings and items," Warriv explained.

"We'll help ya," Alminus offered and got to his feet.

It took the better part of an hour, moving things to different wagons and harnessing the oxen that remained. We all gathered around the edge of the caravan, and everyone bowed their heads, save Piricus, and followed Scorpious in a final farewell to the dead. We all settled back into the wagons, damaged though they were and prepared for the remainder of the ride. It was nearly nightfall and in the distance, we began to see lights, like glittering jewels stand out against the horizon.

"That's it isn't it?" I asked. "Lut Gholein?"

Vendra nodded. "Almost there."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "I wonder what's going to happen to us?" I uttered quietly so that no one could hear, and with that I became lost in anticipation and excitement as the city loomed closer.


	2. Chapter 2

-1The Jewel City

Chyemme

The warm, almost hot breeze of the Anaroch desert wafted across our faces as at long last the gates of the desert city, Lut Gholein loomed into view. I could see several small figures outside, wrapped in loose cloth and bandanas. As we approached, the caravan halted and I heard Warriv's voice speaking with the guards. A few moments later, several dark-skinned guards came around and looked us over. They seemed surprised and continued to stare at us.

"What are you looking at, moron? You've never seen a human being before? Because this place is absolutely isolated, being a trade route and all," Piricus snickered.

The guard blinked. "My apologies, but we're to check out every caravan and every person entering the city, Greiz's orders."

"Who Greiz?" Sovellis asked confused.

"We'll find out soon enough," Piricus growled. "Don't!" he hissed sharply at a guard as he reached for Piricus' bag. "Don't touch my things imbecile unless you want to loose a hand," he said coldly.

"We are to inspect . . ." one began, and made for the bag again. Piricus scowled and in one lightning swift motion, he snatched it and pulled it onto his lap. He drew his dagger and the guard drew a halberd and leveled it at us.

"Whoa. . . .easy now. Piricus no be stubborn. No cause trouble. Let look," Sovellis said calmly, in a placating manner to the guards.

"I knew this would happen. Why the hell can't you ever do things the easy way? What the hell do you have in there anyway, jackass?" Vendra growled uneasily.

"That's none of your business or anyone else's," Piricus insisted.

I stood up and stepped between Piricus and the guard. The guard didn't relax in the slightest.

"You'll have to forgive Piricus, we've been through a lot lately. We mean you no harm and nothing we carry is with malicious intent," I said smoothly. "We carry only that which is for protection," I added.

The guard raised an eyebrow. "You, let me see your shield," he asked uncertainly, gesturing to my ceremonial round-shield. I nodded and gently picked it up and turned it around to show him. He took in the sight and then smiled.

"Well, I'll be. You're an amazon. It's been a while since I've seen one. It's alright boys, you can trust her. Amazons are honorable. Hell on Sanctuary if you piss one off, but you couldn't ask for a better merc to fight alongside. Welcome to Lut Gholein sister, forgive us, but things have been getting out of hand out here in the desert and in town. All manner of strange things have begun happening since . . . never mind," he said with a smile and then lowered his weapon.

"Is that any way to treat a hero?" Warriv asked skeptically as he came around to see what the fuss was.

"Heroes?" Asked one guard to the right.

Warriv nodded. "Yes! I guess word getting around is a scarce occurrence nowadays, but these my friends, are the rogue champions that defeated Andariel herself and reopened the monastery gate!"

The guards looked at each other and nodded, before bowing to us. "We have heard. It's an honor. Please, come on through."

"Thank you," I said and nodded in appreciation, taking my seat. Within moments, we found ourselves through the massive city gates into a small walled-in area. Surprisingly, there was a mass of people dressed in all colors milling about minding their own business. Beyond this area, I could see the many, various streets and alleys of Lut Gholein. The city was huge from this first glance. I wondered if I was going to get lost.

"Finally. It only took forever," Piricus growled and without another word, he stood and exited the caravan.

"Piricus, wait!" I shouted after him, suddenly overcome by an odd emotion. I jumped up without thinking and ran after him.

He hadn't gotten very far, and I saw him say something to a man that was moving the trunk of his belongings. I ran up to him. He looked up and scowled.

"Amazon, you'd better not follow me if you know what's good for you. I've been as tolerant of you and your imbecile friends as I am able," he said flatly.

"I just. . .I just wanted to say goodbye . . .and that I was glad I met you," I said quietly.

Piricus blinked. "First time for everything I guess," he said icily. "Trust me, if you really knew me, you wouldn't think that at all. All I have to say is, watch your back amazon. You never know what's in the shadows, now be gone," he said, though not as harshly as I expected.

"Good luck with your endeavors Piricus, take care of yourself," I said softly and turned to leave just as the rest of our group started walking our way.

Piricus went livid as Scorpious approached him. "Paladin, keep walking, I will not suffer anymore idealistic nonsense from you," he growled.

"I would like to say farewell to you and give you a blessing, though you feel as if you don't need it, however, there is something else we must do first," Scorpious answered.

"I told you imbecile, I'm through with you and your lot," he hissed. "Thank your imaginary god that I haven't killed you yet."

"Piricus," came the old voice of Deckard Cain, "it would be in your best interest to stay with the group at least a while longer. You have been given a great honor. Jeryhn, the Lord of Lut Gholein has heard of your exploits and wishes to speak with all of you."

"I have better things to do then sit around and listen to some noble spew meaningless praises. I have trades to make and a ship to catch," he replied sharply.

"Jackass," Vendra said with an amused smile on her face.

"What, sorceress? I might just leave you with a parting curse if you continue to run your mouth at me," he threatened.

I cleared my throat and pointed to a young man, wearing regal clothing and a jeweled turban, flanked by several highly armored guards standing right behind him.

Piricus turned around and got an odd look on his face as this man, presumably Jerhyn, looked him over.

"My apologizes for this interruption then, hero, but regrettably I have come for more than to just pay respects," he said, somewhat sheepishly.

"Your majesty," I began.

The young man smiled. He wasn't much older than me. "Please, call me Jerhyn."

"Don't mind him, Lord Jerhyn," Vendra said, eyeing Piricus with distain, "he's just a jackass."

Lord Jerhyn laughed. "Such compassion you have for one another."

Deckard Cain cleared his throat and bowed. "Greetings, Jerhyn Lord of Lut Gholein. It has been many years since last we met, but I must say you are looking well," he said politely.

A smile lit Jerhyn's young face. "Ah, Lord Cain, it is good to see you again too my old friend, alive and well. There were terrible rumors around about your fate being tied to that of Tristram. But as for me, I must say, looking well and feeling well are two different things. But, there will be time for us to catch up later. Now, I will say what I have come to say. Is this everyone?" he asked, looking us all over.

Scorpious nodded. "Yes, my Lord."

"Very well then. Greetings honored travelers. I am Jerhyn, Lord of Lut Gholein, and I bid you welcome to my fair port city. I'm glad to know that once again, caravans are free to travel the mountain pass. For some time now we have been under siege from some dark power I can't identify. Strange, it all began when a dark wanderer came this way, looking for the Tomb of Tal Rasha. No one knows exactly where Tal Rasha, keeper of Baal is entombed, but it is certain to be far out in the desert. Now my people whisper tales of the dead rising from their tombs and horrible creatures lurking amongst the moonlit dunes. Even I have witnessed things I cannot explain. I've ordered the ports closed and all trade ships moored until I am certain that my city is safe. Atma the tavern keeper has an important mission for you, you should go see her Immediately. You'll find her in the tavern on the other side of town. Now I must return to the palace, I apologize, but I cannot let you in. I'm afraid things are rather a mess right now. It is good to have you heroes, thank you for your time, and I bid you farewell," he said, and with a nod to us, he called his guards to the ready and left.

Piricus immediately let out a string of swear words that made even Alminus flinch. Scorpious looked as if the words actually physically pained him.

"Well, I guess that means your trip has been cancelled, Jackass," Vendra said with a sadistic smile.

The look Piricus gave her was murderous, but Scorpious stepped in between them. "In light of recent events, seeing as how you can't immediately leave as you have planned, why don't you honor Lord Jerhyn's request along with the rest of us and go see Atma? It was obvious that she is in need of some assistance, and perhaps, when this task is done, Jerhyn might reopen the ports and you may be on about your way," he said placatingly.

"Don't get his hopes up, Scorpious. We all know this is probably only scratching the surface of this city's troubles. It will undoubtedly take more than helping a barmaid to earn Jerhyn's trust," Maria admitted truthfully.

"He was here," Ryelass said quietly, more to himself than anyone. "That dark wanderer, it had to be Marcus!"

"You can no be sure, It be anyone," Sovellis pointed out.

"But he was looking for the Tomb of Tal Rasha," Ryelass said gravely. "Lord Cain, isn't Baal Diablo's brother?"

Deckard Cain nodded solemnly. "You are correct, Ryelass, however I agree with Sovellis. It is too early to tell for certain who or what that dark wanderer was. Let us be patient and observe more of what is around us," he said sagely.

"You're all talk and no action, old man," Piricus growled. "I want out of here as fast as I possibly can."

"Then, go with the flow and help out the others. Do what needs to be done and you'll be out of here before you know it," Cain reminded.

"By Trag 'Oul! How the hell do I keep managing to get tied up with you people? Let's just go and get this over with. This woman was a tavern keeper?" Piricus growled irritably.

"Yes. I know her, Atma. She is a very kind woman. In fact, her whole family is kind. She has a son, Nathan, that's my age and her husband Tom, he helps her with the tavern," Ryelass said with a smile. "If anything has happened to her, I'm honor bound to help her out."

"How do you know her? Have you been here before, Ryelass?" Laurella asked curiously.

Ryelass nodded. "Yes. I used to live here. In fact," he said with a smile, my mother lives here. When we fled Tristram during the days of King Leoric's madness, we came here, Marcus, my mother, and me. Marcus, as you know, went back to Tristram some time later to join the fight. I was still young and wanted to learn a trade. My mother knew a blacksmith in Harrogath, Alminus' father and so I went to the northlands to learn under him. That's where I met Alminus, and we trained together for a while, became the best of friends, and then decided to go after Marcus together after my mother said she had lost all contact with him. So that's my story. And," Ryelass said looking up at the darkening sky, maybe we should go see her. It's getting late. I doubt we can help Atma in the dark."

"Ya, tha's prolly true, but buddy I don' think yur house is big 'nough fur all of us," Alminus said, looking around.

"Don't worry, Sovellis and I will be staying with Drognan, the mage. Which reminds me, we should probably go find him. We'll meet you at the tavern in the morning after we've met with him and spoken of our mage trials," Vendra affirmed.

"Very well. Be careful," Scorpious advised and Vendra nodded. Together, she and Sovellis left down the street, which was becoming surprisingly empty, though it was only dusk.

"I am going to find quarters of my own, I will not share my space with you, warrior or anyone else for that matter now that we don't inhabit a five acre living space," Piricus said rudely and without another word, he turned on his heel and left.

"That's just as well, because I'd kill him before I let him in the door," Ryelass growled as he watched him go.

"I will go as well, seeing as I don't hold much favor with you either," Scorpious said calmly.

Ryelass sighed. "I don't mind you, as long as you stay out of the way and don't fight with me."

"I try to break up fights, not cause them," Scorpious reminded.

"And that's what causes trouble," Ryelass growled.

"Piricus is gone," Cloudyous affirmed, "I doubt you'll have any trouble."

"Right then," Ryelass said calmly, "shall we go?"

"You know where you're going?" Laurella asked in amazement.

"I'm positive," Ryelass assured.

Everyone started moving except Maria. "What's wrong Maria?" I asked. "Are you coming?"

Maria shook her head. "I don't think so. I have something I need to do first while I'm here. I'll meet all of you in the tavern tomorrow," she assured.

"Okay," I said uncertainly, and turned to tell the others. I looked back over my shoulder, and just like that, she was gone. However, there was something there where she had been. It was a small, silver knife. I walked over and picked it up. Upon it was a strange inscription. _Verana tertha gerana. _I had absolutely no clue what it meant. I'd hold on to it and ask Maria later when I saw her.

"Chyemme?" Ryelass called from ahead, are you coming?"

"Sorry! Coming!" I called back and trotted ahead to catch up. We followed Ryelass around many twisting and curving streets as the sky became blanketed in blue. We arrived at last at a tall, narrow building with several floors. Ryelass smiled and stepped up to the door, knocking vigorously. Within moments, a small, stout woman with Ryelass' eyes and hair color opened the door. She looked to be in her middle years and had grey streaking her locks and some wrinkles on her face.

Her eyes lit up like a summer firework. A huge smile came to her excited face. "RYELASS!" she squealed in delight and smothered him in a huge hug.

Ryelass smiled too and wrapped his arms around her. "Mother, I'm so glad to see you too!"

"My god, I'm so glad you're alright! I heard rumors about the monastery! And I heard about Tristram! I thought I'd never see you again!" she said, tears of joy rolling down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry to worry you mom, I would have written, but there was no way a letter could get through the pass," Ryelass apologized.

Ryelass' mother took a moment, and then noticed Alminus. "Oh! Almy! You're here too! I'm so glad!" she said and hugged him too, as best she was able with his tall, massive frame.

"Almy?" Laurella giggled.

"Yvette! Good ter see ya well," Alminus said with a smile.

"Oh! And who are they? You brought friends with you?" his mother, Yvette answered.

Ryelass nodded. "These, are some of the best people I know. I have loads to tell you!" Ryelass exclaimed.

Yvette blushed. "Oh look at me, jibbering on, come in, come in. All of you!" she said sheepishly and stepped aside to let us in. She gave Cloudyous a weird look as he passed through the door with Belthem at his side and Bibo on his shoulder.

"Sorry," he apologized. "Do you mind them? I can have them wait outside," Cloudyous said apologetically as he gestured with his good arm to his animal companions.

"No, not at all," Yvette said, though a little uncertainly. "Is that," she began looking at Belthem, "a real wolf?"

Cloudyous nodded and Yvette flinched.

"He will not harm you as long as he doesn't think you're going to hurt us," Cloudyous assured, and she relaxed some.

Last to come through the door, was Deckard Cain, escorted by Scorpious. Yvette's old face lit up once more. "Elder Cain! You're alive! Oh this is wonderful! I'm honored to have you here! If I would have known you were with Ryelass I wouldn't have worried so!"

Lord Cain smiled and gently embraced her. "Yvette, my dear, this reunion warms my old heart as well. It is good to know that some of Tristram still remain in the world."

We all gathered in a small central area and were seated on a cushiony rug.

"Mother, this is Chyemme," Ryelass said gesturing to me. Yvette looked me and my armor over and then looked from him to me.

"She's very beautiful, are you two together?" she asked bluntly.

Ryelass blushed. "No, no it's not like that. Just friends, everyone here is just a friend. Chyemme is an amazon, can you believe that?" Ryelass said with a smile.

"I've only heard legends," Yvette said, looking at me as if I weren't real.

"And you know Alminus. This is Laurella, she is a rogue sister," he said, gesturing to Laurella beside me. "And beside her is Cloudyous, he's a druid. And next to him is Scorpious he's--" Ryelass began.

"A paladin," Yvette finished for him. "It is an honor to have you here, my Lord."

Scorpious bowed politely. "Thank you for your hospitality, my lady."

"There are more of us, they just were busy," Laurella informed.

"More? Wow, you're a strange bunch already. Tell me everything," Yvette said eagerly and sat down.

"It's a really long story," I said truthfully.

"We have time," Ryelass said gently and once everyone was silent, he began recounting the tales of our adventures, leaving out a few bits, my guess was not to upset his mother. We sat for hours and listened and occasionally we added to the story. The whole time, Ryelass avoided mentioning anything about Marcus.

"My God. . .I don't know what to say," Yvette said quietly once he had finished. "It's a miracle you're still here! Any of you! To think that all this time . . .I was right to worry! Every day could have been your last!" she said in a motherly huff.

"That's the same, whether I fight or not," Ryelass said gently. "Any day could be my last."

"Hush now! I'm your mother, I don't like thinking about that! Bad enough that. . . . Ryelass. . . ." she whispered quietly, "This whole time, you've not said one word about Marcus. That's the reason you left the northlands, isn't it? To find him? Was your search empty? You found Lord Cain, surely you must have found something?" she said desperately.

No one said anything, especially Ryelass. There was no way on Sanctuary that he could tell her the truth. Not if he wanted to keep her sane. I had seen what Marcus' fate had done to Ryelass. I was right there when he discovered the truth, after all. It had nearly destroyed him. I didn't even dare imagine what that news would do to his poor mother, who seemed the sensitive type.

Ryelass may not have said anything, but his face betrayed him completely. Yvette steeled herself. "He's dead, isn't he?" she said quietly, all joy fading.

Ryelass looked down. He opened his mouth, but Alminus, thinking quickly, cut him off. He mustered up the most serious and sorrowful tone I had ever heard and spoke, though with great difficulty, without his accent.

"He can't say the words, so I'm afraid I have to. We got to Tristram, and we searched everywhere, but we were too late. I'm sorry Yvie, we tried. We lost him," Alminus said somewhat truthfully. Nowhere did he actually say the words Marcus is dead, but it was implied very well.

"He's . . .dead. My poor boy. . . " she whispered and tears rolled down her cheeks. She seemed inconsolable for a few moments, then she turned to Lord Cain, who nodded. He too, knew the truth would be worse than the lie.

"I'm sorry," Laurella said quietly. "If it was any consolation, I lost my sister too. They loved each other, Celeste and Marcus. And both died the deaths of heroes fighting for the ones they loved and what they believed in," she comforted.

"Is that true, Lord Cain? Were you there when he died?" Yvette asked mournfully.

Deckard Cain shook his old head. "No Yvette, I'm afraid I was not. But, what they say is true. Marcus is nothing short of a hero and I have no doubt his soul will rest with Tyreal," he answered.

"What killed him? My Marcus?" she asked silently.

"Let's talk about something else. We've lost someone we love, the details are irrelevant and it pains me to speak about them and it would only shatter your heart more to hear them," Ryelass said in earnest.

"Alright. I guess somewhere deep down, I already knew. Too much time has passed. . .Ryelass I'm proud of you. And I'm sure your brother and your father would be too. You've grown up into a man far beyond your years," she said with a sniffle.

"It's getting late," Laurella observed as she looked out the window.

Yvette nodded. "Yes, and you'll all stay with me tonight. It's too dangerous to be outside at night, especially recently," she said gravely.

"Why's that, My lady?" Scorpious asked seriously, looking out the window into the twilight.

"Lord Jerhyn didn't tell you?" she asked, surprised.

"No, he told us that terrible things have been happening and that terrible creatures were being seen, but he wasn't specific," I admitted. "He told us to go see Atma as soon as we could though. We all agreed to do it tomorrow," I informed.

Yvette's face dropped. "Atma . . .then he must want you to . . .sweet Lord."

"What? What is it, mom?" Ryelass asked in concern.

"Lord Jerhyn was right. Strange, horrifying things have begun to happen recently and no one knows why. Among them is, well . . ." she began hesitantly.

"Go on, Yvie we faced Andariel we can handle it," Alminus encouraged gently.

"There is a horrible monster that comes out at night and steals people away to the sewers under the city. No one knows where it came from or what it wants, just that it hungers for human flesh. It's killed a large number of people already. Several nights ago, Greiz's best mercenaries and a few of the townsfolk went after it, including Atma's son and her husband. Only one of them came back, and well . . .the flesh had been peeled off of most of his body. . .I wasn't there, but that's all Greiz would say. Greiz had to kill his own soldier, to put him out of his misery. Greiz strikes me as a hardened man, it takes a lot to get to him, but clearly, this did. He's ordered everyone to remain inside at night until the creature has been dealt with," Yvette said silently. "If Lord Jerhyn wants you to see Atma, then he undoubtedly wants you to deal with the creature. Don't. don't go Ryelass, I'm begging you not to! My old heart couldn't take it if you died. You're all I have left!" she croaked miserably.

"Mom, it will take more than that to get rid of me. After all, we faced the demon queen herself! As for the monster, someone has to do it. I'll not suffer my mother and my friends to live in terror of the dark and in their own home nonetheless. Besides, I won't be alone. There are ten of us, and we have experience," Ryelass soothed.

"It's what you do, isn't it?" Yvette asked, turning to Scorpious. "I've heard that the paladins of Zakarum cleanse evil and fight the undead. At least, that's what Fara told me," she said quietly.

"Fara?" Scorpious asked, a strange look coming to his face. "Fara StrongFist?"

"Yes, you know her?" Yvette asked curiously.

"I've heard of her. She was a great champion of the Zakarum, not that long ago. It would be my honor to meet her. In fact, I will make it a priority to go see her tomorrow. She might be able to be of some assistance against this creature. But rest assured my lady, you are correct. The paladins of Zakarum have a sworn duty to defend the innocent and vanquish vile evil wherever we find it. I give you my word that I will watch out for your son, though he far from needs it," Scorpious vowed.

Yvette sighed. "No matter what I say, you're going to go, aren't you?" she asked Ryelass miserably.

Ryelass hugged her. "I will always come back to you mom, I promise."

"You're so like Marcus. And both of you are your father all over again. It just runs in the family I guess," she said quietly. "Just be careful. Come now. I don't want to talk about this anymore than I have to, or I won't sleep at all. Let me tell you all a story about Ryelass here and Marcus when they were little," she said, a slight smile returning to her face. She had just settled in when there came a hysterical pounding on the door.

Yvette jumped. "Oh my, that sounds like Dana from across the street. And, it's dark! I--" she began and rose to her feet.

Ryelass stopped her. "No," he said quickly, "I'll go." And with that he disappeared down the stairs. Moments later, he rushed back into the room, accompanied my a hysterical, gibbering woman.

"Calm down Dana. What happened?" Ryelass asked gently, taking her by the arm and helping her to the floor.

"MY BABY! MY BABY'S GONE!" she screeched loudly.

"Gone? What do you mean, gone?" Cloudyous asked calmly, though gravely.

"SHE DIDN'T COME HOME! SHE WENT TO TOWN SQUARE TO PLAY WITH HARRY AND SAMANTHA AND I'VE LOOKED FOR HER EVERYWHERE AND SHE--MY BABY!" she shouted in anguish.

"Scorpious rose to his feet immediately. "How long ago was this?" he asked, deadly serious.

Dana sniffled and took a deep breath. "An hour at most."

"Night just fell ten minutes ago, she can't be that far away," Laurella observed. "None of the guards saw her? Surely one of them will find her."

Dana put her head in her hands and began crying hysterically and babbling incoherently.

Yvette took her in her arms. "The guards are just like everyone else. They're afraid to go out at night, especially after what happened just recently. Greiz has ordered everyone in doors. And, I hate to say it, but those mercs only really care about their money, not about our welfare. They do just enough to keep Lord Jerhyn happy, but I don't think any of them would stick out their necks for us like this," she said with a mild tone of anger towards them.

"Cowards. Well we ain't like tha'. Come on guys, les' go find tha' girl," Alminus said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"You can't! The creature!" Yvette said in horror.

"There's no guarantee that the creature is even out yet. With luck, we'll find her and be back here before anything happens," I pointed out.

"Ryelass . . ." Yvette said miserably, eyeing him.

"I'll be fine, don't worry. I'm not alone," he assured and gestured to Alminus.

"None of us will be going alone," Scorpious insisted. "Cloudyous, with your arm, you should stay here," he added as Cloudyous made to stand up.

Cloudyous sighed. "You're right, but, take Belthem with you. He can sniff out the girl. Dana, do you have anything of hers with you?" he asked.

Dana sniffled and pulled out a small doll from her pocket. "She never leaves her doll, I went to go find her but I couldn't . . ." she sobbed.

"Let me see that," Cloudyous instructed gently, and, taking it from her, he presented it to Belthem. The two shared a glance, as they did when they were communicating, and then Belthem took a deep whiff. His eyes lit up and he barked, lunging for the door.

"Hurry, he says the girl is close, but he senses something's not right either," Cloudyous warned.

I grabbed my javelins from where I had left them at the door and slung my sword back onto my belt. Similarly everyone else armored up and within moments we streamed out the door into the warm night. We broke out in a dead run, following Belthem, who howled and dashed forward like hell was on his tail. We rounded several bends and went up several side streets, until at last we came to a dead end. I could see something moving up ahead and everyone tensed. The tension soon became relief as the form of a small girl surfaced in the starlight. She was obviously lost and crying.

"Thank God," Scorpious said with relief as he walked over and began to soothe the child. Within moments, he had the child calm enough to cooperate with us and we were headed swiftly back to Ryelass' house. We were about halfway there when I felt it. A dark, creeping feeling, sinister and dangerous. It was the feel of a predator.

"Guys," I said, bringing us to a halt. "There's something here."

"Don't stop," Scorpious said quietly. "Keep moving or it will ambush us."

"I'm scared . . . " the little girl sniffled and hugged closer to Scorpious' side.

"It will be alright, nothing's going to hurt you while we're here," Ryelass soothed.

Just then, a scream pierced the night. All of us jumped and looked around wildly, but could see nothing. I closed my eyes and my inner sight brought me to a nearby alley, where a terrified beggar was running scared from a rapidly approaching black mass.

"Chyemme! What's happening!" Ryelass barked as they all turned to me.

"There! In the alley!" I said quickly, pointing.

Scorpious handed the child immediately to Laurella and drew his sword. "Take her to safety, quickly. Ryelass, Alminus go with her and make sure nothing happens," he commanded.

"I'm not going to let you fight while I run away!" Ryelass insisted harshly.

"Laurella can't go by herself, she doesn't know the way," Scorpious insisted.

"Come on buddy, let Chyemme and Scorpious handle it," Alminus said in a hurried tone.

Ryelass growled in frustration. "Be careful," he said quickly, "if you're not back in ten minutes I'm coming back for you."

"Go!" Scorpious insisted as they took off running.

"Why me?" I asked suddenly as I steeled myself.

Scorpious didn't waiver in the slightest as we both headed for the alley. "Because your inner sight is more developed than Laurella's," he admitted.

I turned quickly as something rushed at us from behind. By the time I realized it was Belthem I had almost hit him. The silver wolf growled fiercely and then joined us as we hurried toward the sound of the scream. There was nothing. Only silence. My whole back went strait as we rounded the corner and my inner sight burned. We began to hear a scraping noise, and low growling.

"Scorpious . . ." I said uneasily as a large, black mass came into focus at the end of the alley.

"I see it," he said seriously and steeled himself.

"I'll light it up," I said quietly and focused my inner sight. Blinding stars lit the area, and I had to suppress a horrified yelp at the sight before me. There was blood everywhere and bits of flesh too. I watched as the creature stopped what it was doing, apparently slicing off fillets of flesh from the carcass and eating them and turned to us. I had never seen anything so ugly in my entire life. The whole creature was probably nine feet tall and stood on two, brownish-red colored legs that ended in decaying feet and foot-long claws. The creature was covered around the waist with a cloth but above that was the rotting torso of a man. The hands ended in two, three-foot blades that looked to be protrusions of the bone wrapped in sickly muscle. And the head of the creature was horse-like, long and narrow, but the top half and the face were solid bone, while the bottom jaw was a mass of decaying muscle. The thing had horrid, sharp teeth that lined the entire mouth and long, jet-black hair that cascaded behind it in greasy waves.

"By the light," Scorpious said quietly in revulsion. I looked to him and noticed, though it was hard to see in the dark, his colored skin had become a lighter shade. His misgivings soon gave way to righteous fury.

"I've seen enough. Back to the abyss with you creature!" he snarled, a gesture that Belthem mimicked. Scorpious focused his energy and soon, a shimmering white ball appeared in his palm. He launched it at the creature and I took the opportunity to launch a javelin of my own, enhanced with lightning.

The holy bolt hit the monster full in the face and my javelin landed deeply in its shoulder, causing a blinding flash of light. In the haze, I heard a dark, rumbling sound. It sounded like . . .I scowled. It was. Laughter. The thing was laughing at us. When the light died down, the monster stood there same as before, the white fire on its face faded into wisps of smoke, leaving the bone unscathed and my magical javelin didn't even singe tissue. Somehow, it had managed to channel both our attacks.

"Givisshhh me yourrr flesssshhh . . ." the thing croaked in a hideous voice that was clearly unnatural. It sounded like it may have once been human, but the vocal cords had long since begun to rot.

"Not today, abomination," Scorpious scowled and a spiraling golden glow wrapped around us. I felt power seep into my limbs, as if I could rend apart steel. "Hit him again, Chyemme," Scorpious instructed. I readied my javelin, but I didn't even have time to blink. I don't know how something so deteriorated could move so fast, but the creature was on us in a flash of demented blades.

It swung one blade-hand at me and the other at Scorpious. Scorpious blocked with his sword and white fire flowed off the blade onto the creature, with no effect whatsoever. It did however, prevent the blow from injuring him. I tossed my javelin in front of myself and let out a gasp of pain as the bone sliced cleanly through the shaft of my javelin, through the top part of my bracers and into the flesh of my forearm. Blood began leaking down onto the ground at a steady pace as I drew back.

The monster refolded and swung again, though it tossed the arm it had used to hit me back and washed my blood into its mouth with delight.

"Chyemme!" Scorpious yelled and narrowly ducked under an arching swing to push me out of the way of the second, which caught him square in the side and cut a rend in his armor, though it was superficial. The blow also sent him sprawling, leaving me alone with the monster. It sliced at me once more and this time I yanked my sword from the sheath, blocking with it instead. To my relief, I was successfully able to parry this time and managed to hold my own against the monster until an errant strike sent my weapon flying from my grasp.

I ran after it, but I wasn't going to get to it before the monster got to me. Belthem came to my aid and darted between my legs at the creature. The silver timber wolf grabbed the trailing loincloth on the monster and ran underneath it, tripping the monstrosity and flattening it on the ground. The undead abomination thrashed wildly, catching Belthem with one of its clawed feet and slicing a gash across his chest. Belthem whimpered and fell back as the creature literally somersaulted back onto its feet with a sickening, unnatural twist. It ran at me and I contorted my body to slide around the monster's arm as best I was able. But he was so fast, he caught me under my shoulder pads with one of his blades and hoisted me into the air so that I was dangling by my armor.

The monster pulled me towards its face and opened it's hideous gapping maw to take a humongous bite out of me. I flailed wildly trying to undo the clasp to my armor, but I was at such an angle I couldn't reach it. I saw a flash of silver and realized I could however, reach Maria's knife that I had picked up earlier. I didn't think it would do much good, but it was better than nothing. I pulled the blade from my belt and plunged it deep into the creature's eye. To my surprise, the blade stuck and I could smell burning flesh. The creature let out a terrifying roar and dropped me to stagger backwards, howling in anguish, with Maria's knife still stuck in its eye.

The demon swiped and pawed at its face, but since it didn't actually have hands it couldn't remove the knife. It stumbled, then bellowed and opened its mouth and spewed a burst of green gas. I knew it was poison, and covered my mouth as quickly as I could, though I still breathed some of it in. I could feel my muscles start to lock and ache and I began to panic. But, just as it came, it abated. I looked down and realized I was wrapped in a soft, emerald-colored ring. I heard Scorpious chant from beside me and I realized that this must have been another one of his auras.

My paladin friend came immediately to my side and enveloped us both under his sanctuary aura. White stars burst forth all around us, and though they didn't burn the creature's flesh, they did knock him back. The monster regained itself, and this time charged strait for us. Scorpious and I braced ourselves, but couldn't have been more surprised when the undead monstrosity broke away from us at a second's notice and ran as quickly as a gazelle back out the alley and into the night making a horrid braying noise all the while.

I prepared myself and made to go after him, but Scorpious stopped me. "Let it go. It's going back to its stronghold and it will get there before we catch him. We are ill equip to fight that battle tonight, we're all injured. But, I daresay we've given that demon something to think about. He will not be back here tonight. Come. Let me see your arm," he said and I offered it to him carefully.

He sighed in relief. "The wound is not deep. Your armor saved your arm. Here," he said and ran a glowing hand over it. A cool, but not cold feeling washed over me and my wound tingled, then I marveled as the flesh pulled itself back together and the blood crusted up, good as new.

"You too, Belthem," Scorpious said gently and walked over to the whimpering wolf and addressed his injuries.

It didn't take very long for us to here the clanking of armor and deep breathing as several more people ran into the alley.

"Scorpious! Chyemme!" It was Ryelass. "What happened? Did you kill it?"

Scorpious sighed and shook his head. "No. It got away, but Chyemme did manage to give it a serious wound."

"Hence the howling," I explained.

"Damn! If I had only been here thirty seconds ago we might've had it!" Ryelass swore.

"I smell blood, wha's tha' at ther end of the alley?" Alminus asked as he wrinkled his nose.

"You don't want to know," I said grimly. "We got here a little late to save him."

Alminus frowned, hard though that was to see in the dark. "Damn is righ'. If all o' us were here, we coulda taken tha' thing."

"There wasn't time. Did you get the little girl home safely?" I asked in concern.

Alminus nodded. "Ya. Tha' was one relieved momma. Speakin' o' relieved mommas, Ryelass ya should ger see yurs."

"Well, that creature is done for the night, it should be safe to head back now," I admitted.

"Le's hope so," Alminus grumbled and together we walked back to Ryelass' house to turn in for the night.


	3. Chapter 3

-1Disclaimer: I do not own Diablo or Diablo 2, I'm merely playing around in their universe for fun.

He That Seeks Flesh

Chyemme

Morning came and I awoke with warm, desert sunlight on my face. I yawned and stretched. I rubbed my head and my eyes. My dreams last night had been troubled to say the least. I could smell the savory aroma of sweet meats coming from the kitchen of Ryelass' house. I heard his mother, Yvette, humming pleasantly. I looked around. Laurella was still sleeping on the rug next to me and Alminus was snoring lightly in the window sill where he had fallen asleep taking watch. Scorpious, Ryelass, and Cloudyous however, were gone.

"Good morning, Chyemme dear. Ready for breakfast?" Yvette asked as she walked in.

I saw Alminus' nostrils flare and his ears perk. Just like that, he was awake in an instant. "Did someone say food?"

Yvette laughed heartily. "Some people never change. I'm glad to see a good lad with a healthy appetite."

Alminus blushed. "Well, ya know me . . ."

I heard Ryelass laugh as he came into the room. "So like you, Alminus. Thinking with your stomach before your brain."

"Ya, well I could break ya in half if I wanted ter, ya bein' so skinny 'n all. Gotta keep up ma strength," he said playfully in his defense.

"Hmm? What's everybody laughing about?" Laurella asked groggily as she rolled over.

"How Alminus is a big guy," I chuckled.

Laurella yawned. "Where are Scorpious and Cloudyous?"

"Scorpious is downstairs saying his prayers and Cloudyous took Bibo and Belthem out for some air," Ryelass explained. "Both said they'll be up shortly."

"Shortly means now. Good morning everyone," said Scorpious with his usual gentle, serene expression.

"G' morning'. We'd better hurry, righ'? We gotta meet tha others 'n go see Atma," Alminus observed.

"You are staying for breakfast, right?" Yvette asked, a hurt expression coming to her face.

I looked to Scorpious, who was about to say something, but Ryelass cut him off.

"Off course we have time, mom," he said placatingly.

The look on Scorpious' face at first suggested otherwise, but he consented diplomatically without saying a word. We followed them into a rectangular room with a small table and four chairs.

"I apologize, but I'm afraid I'm not used to having so many guests at one time. I don't have enough chairs for all of you," she apologized.

"That's alright," said Cloudyous, as he, Belthem, and Bibo came in. "The earth makes for a fine table."

"Don't worry I'll sit on the floor too," Ryelass said with a charming smile at Laurella and me, "there are ladies here that should sit at the table."

I grinned and Laurella blushed, but we both took a seat at the table.

Yvette beamed with pride. "I raised you right."

"Yvie, I'll sit on tha floor too. I don' wanna break yur chairs," Alminus offered.

"Well alright then. Everybody have a seat and I'll be right back," Yvette instructed and left the room.

"What time is it?" Laurella asked curiously.

"The sundial in the square says it is half past the seventh hour," Cloudyous informed.

"I don't mean to sound rude," said Laurella slowly, "but aren't we supposed to have met Vendra, Sovellis, Maria, and Piricus already?" Laurella asked.

"They can wait," Ryelass snapped. "My mother got up at the crack of dawn and worked her ass off for us. The least we can do is take a few minutes and appreciate her hard work."

"Take it easy buddy. We like yur mom. Ain't non'a us gonna be rude ter her," Alminus assured, just as Yvette came back into the room and set a large ham and a bowl of boiled eggs on the table.

"Thank you, my Lady. If you would permit, I would like to say a prayer over this meal and your efforts," Scorpious requested politely.

"Of course, I wish you would," Yvette said with delight.

"It's a good thing Piricus isn't here," Laurella said with a laugh.

"Who's Piricus?" Yvette asked curiously.

"The bane of human existence," Ryelass growled.

"Come now, surely it can't be that bad," Yvette said playfully.

"Trust 'im Yvie, it is. He's one of tha meanest people I've ever met and a necromancer ta boot," Alminus said with distain.

Yvette frowned. "A necromancer? As in the stories Fara used to tell? About raising the dead?" she asked seriously.

"Unfortunately yes. A lost soul if ever there was one," Scorpious answered.

"And a lost cause," Ryelass hissed.

"He may be deep, but he's not beyond hope. There's always hope even in the darkest of nights. At least, that's my experience," Scorpious reminded gently.

"You're deluding yourself," Ryelass snapped curtly.

"Do ya honestly think he's goin' ter change? I mean truly? Come on, Scorpious. Don' lie," Alminus said disapprovingly.

"Honestly, I don't know if he will or not. I can hope and pray, and better yet, refuse to give up hope. And that's what I will do. I don't think I'm the only one," Scorpious said with a smile, looking at me.

I felt myself blush, and I didn't say anything. Everyone gave me an odd look.

"At any rate, he's scary," Laurella said with a shiver.

"All this time, you've let someone like that hang around you? He could have . . .he still could . . ." Yvette gulped in clear disapproval and concern.

"He won't," I said truthfully. "he may be mean and rude, but he's not stupid. Trust me ma'am he knows he'd have to face all of us if he ever tried to harm any of us. But, for all his talk, I really think he just wants to be left alone. He's not all bad, after all, he's saved my life before," I protested in his defense.

"Still . . . " Yvette shivered. "I would have been better off not knowing about him."

"Don't worry mom, I'll kill him if he even comes within sight of you," Ryelass huffed defensively.

Yvette sighed and ruffled his hair affectionately. "Don't be so dramatic. Your old bird's got some fight left in her. Nobody or nothing could talk me down without a fight."

"Mom . . ." Ryelass said with a grin.

"Thank you, Ms. Yvette for the meal, but I'm afraid we really need to go or Piricus probably really will track us down," I said politely.

"If he's even coming," Ryelass said with a scowl.

"You know he will be. He wants out of here so badly he'd do anything," I said with a laugh.

"Well heaven knows I ain't leavin' here jus' so I can pleas' 'im. If wer late, wer late. We had good reason," Alminus said as he rose from the floor.

"Thank you. All of you. I know you're busy. Just . . . " Yvette said quietly. "Be careful . . .".

Ryelass nodded. "We will. You can expect us back before the sun sets," he said gently.

Yvette looked hesitant, then looked to Scorpious, who nodded to her. "Don't worry my lady, we will be back as soon as we're able, safe and sound. I have no doubt the good Lord will watch over us and bless us in our endeavors."

"Don't worry, Yvette. I'll stay here and keep you company. Maybe if she feels like it, Bibo will sing for us," Cloudyous said with a smile.

Yvette nodded. "Oh that's right! Your arm! Oh well, I guess it won't be so bad if I have someone here with me."

Cloudyous nodded, then locked eyes with Belthem. After a few moments, he nodded to us. "He's prepared to go with you, he's dead set on the hunt. He says the monster got away from you last night, and he never lets prey escape. He's ready when you are."

"How can we talk to him?" I asked. "What if we need to tell him something?"

"He'll understand. Remember, it's about tone and body language. You're not going to be able to talk to him and carry on a conversation like a human, but if you need him or he needs you, you'll know," Cloudyous assured.

"He also said he's ready to protect you, which is a great honor. Wolves only go to such great lengths for members of their pack. He considers all of you his friends," he added.

"Don't worry Cloudyous," I said as she ruffled Belthem's scruff affectionately, "we'll do our best to watch out for him too."

"Alright, le's go," Alminus said and after we each received a hug from Yvette we armored up and left the house onto the busy city street.

I was amazed at the sheer number of buildings that were crammed into such a tight space and even more astounded at the number of people on the streets, even when there was supposedly such a dangerous monster lurking directly beneath their feet. This city was definitely bigger than I had originally thought. For the most part, no one paid us any mind, looking around, there were far more exotic people besides us. I saw several people that looked to be of Sovellis' complexion, and several more people that were pale enough to be akin to Piricus.

I looked to my left and for some reason, I noticed a single face among the crowd. It was a middle-aged woman with long, black hair, streaked with white all the way through. She was wearing a midnight blue robe and had the most piercing blue eyes I had ever seen.

My inner sight flared and I heard someone talking, it sounded like Celeste, the Blood Raven, and then another voice, presumably the woman in front of me. She got a very surprised, then very nasty look on her face as she surveyed me.

_Keep walking, amazon, but beware he that seeks flesh_, came a strange voice that was completely in my head. I blinked, and the woman was gone. I wondered vaguely, what just happened.

"Everything alright, Chyemme?" Scorpious asked me as he looked over.

"I think so," I said uncertainly as we came in sight of a large building that was open on one front.

"This is it," Ryelass said as we walked to the doorframe.

"There you are," came the cold voice of Piricus from behind us. I jumped when I realized he was an inch away from my ear. "One night without adversity and you let your guard go completely to hell. A good way to end up dead, amazon."

I turned around and shoved him roughly away from me. "For your information, my night was full of adversity. What did you do last night?" I asked plainly.

He laughed. "That's none of your business, amazon. What happened paladin? What the hell took so long? Did your morning babble turn into a lecture on gibberish?"

Scorpious sighed. "We were being polite to our hostess. Which of course, I would have done anyway, but the others were in agreement, so it was not entirely my fault," Scorpious answered bluntly.

"Found a nanny for a ninny then, have we?" Piricus snorted.

Ryelass hissed loudly. "Don't you even start. If you insult my mother I swear I'll . ." he began crossly.

"You'd go home to her in a body bag shorty, we've had this conversation before. Say something interesting for a change, I'm bored," Piricus yawned mockingly.

Ryelass cursed at him and Piricus raised an eyebrow with a sly smile. He loved watching people loose their cool, while he just sat there, unaffected in the least.

"It's a good thing yur so calm, Piricus. I bet ya won' be after ya see wha' we saw las' nigh'," Alminus said with a scowl.

"What happened to your armor, paladin? Did you try to help an ornery cat down from a rooftop? I hope you fell of course," he said rudely.

"We had a run in with an undead creature of some sort last night. Ryelass' mom said it--" I began.

"--was carrying people away in the night and eating their flesh? I heard about that," said Maria as she seemingly materialized out of the crowd from nowhere.

"You heard about that?" Laurella asked.

"We all have. Anyone with ears knows about it," Piricus said bluntly. "People are like parrots especially when the news is bad. They love to squawk."

"But, you actually faced it last night?" Maria asked, going serious.

"Yes. We would have killed it, but it ran away," I said apologetically.

" News flash, amazon. Things generally tend to do that when they're getting their ass kicked. That was pretty damn pathetic to let it get away where it only becomes stronger and nastier," Piricus growled.

"Yeah well, we didn't exactly have an easy time with it," I grumbled.

Scorpious nodded. "I have no idea why, but it was immune to my holy powers."

"Maybe that's because you use magic, moron, and not some divine gift. Your god is pretty pathetic if some undead bastard bested you. Isn't that like the ultimate let down for you zealots?" Piricus asked scathingly.

"I didn't say my powers failed me completely," Scorpious snapped. "And if you notice, the creature put a rend in my armor and not in my body so I must be doing something right. I maintain what I always have, God watches over me. Were we not able to drive it away, Chyemme?" Scorpious asked briskly.

I nodded. "We were, but I'm sorry Maria. I lost your knife," I apologized.

"My knife?" she asked interestedly.

"Yeah, the silver one with the inscription on it. You dropped it before we all parted ways the other day. I was going to give it back to you, so I put it in my belt for safekeeping and that became the only thing I could reach after the creature grabbed me. I stabbed it in the eye, it was the only thing that worked, but the knife got stuck and the creature ran away with it," I explained.

Maria scowled. "I'm going to need that back."

"Why? Don't you have other weapons?" Laurella asked. "Was it enchanted or something?"

Maria shook her head. "No, but it is something of value to me and we'll leave it at that. That doesn't surprise me that the knife worked when all else failed," she answered bluntly.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because the knife was made of truesilver, a rare metal that's only found in the northern mountains. But it's highly prized both as a monetary object and for its magical properties. Truesilver has an innate ability to disrupt energy flow. It's just the nature of the metal. Mages used to both love and fear it. You should ask Vendra and Sovellis about it when they show up," Maria explained.

"Ask what?" Sovellis asked as he came out of the crowd. I looked and immediately noticed that Vendra was not with him.

"About truesilver. Where's Vendra?" I asked curiously.

"Ah truesilver. It very strange thing. Vendra no with me, she ill," he said, though there was something strange about what he said.

Maria picked up on it too. "Ill? With what?" she asked keenly.

"Me no know. Drognan Elder say best she stay. I concerned. She no fight with him. She listen instead of be feisty one," he said with concern.

"Wow, if she admits she's sick it must be serious," Laurella said with alarm.

"Whatever it is, that means she's not going to be here to bitch and whine about everything. And my head won't hurt from her incessant screaming. We all know how much that bitch loves the undead," Piricus said brightly.

"That's not a blessing," Scorpious said seriously. "We're down by two then and this thing is stronger than ever. To be honest, even with everything I've seen, I've never seen this before," Scorpious admitted seriously.

"I don't think anybody has. Maria?" I asked curiously.

"I've heard about things like this, but never dealt with it. You should ask Piricus, he's the necromancer," she said glowering at him coldly.

"Well?" Ryelass asked, turning to him.

"I could have told you this was coming, imbeciles. I could feel undead the second my feet hit the sand. This thing, I did some research of my own last night, is a mummified mage," he announced, "although it's strange, because I don't feel a single other necromancer here," he said as plainly as if it were the only logical explanation.

"Maybe you're not looking hard enough," Ryelass hissed.

"We'll find out soon enough. I know someone that might could help us, we should go see her after we speak with Atma," Scorpious interrupted.

"Someone should maybe ask Lord Cain about it too," I pointed out.

"Excuse me," came a soft-spoken voice from the door. We all turned around to find a middle-aged woman with dark brown hair tied up in a bun wearing a purple and gold dress. She looked terrible, there were bags under her eyes and wrinkles all over her face.

Ryelass immediately softened. "Atma," he said mournfully and embraced her.

"Ryelass, is it really you?" she asked, taking a step back to look him over.

"Yes, it is. I'm here to help you, and these are my friends. Mom told me what happened," Ryelass said gingerly.

Atma's eyes misted up. "Did she? Well, I guess it's no secret. Please, all of you come in and have a seat."

We all followed the tavern keeper into the building and set down at the bar.

"My Lady, how can we help you?" Scorpious asked gently.

Atma sniffled as she looked at Ryelass. "He was so like you, Nathan. I remember when you two used to play together. And now he's . . ." she began, but stopped herself.

"It's okay Atma, we already know what happened. You don't have to say it. Jerhyn said you wanted to see us, so here we are. We'll do anything we can for you," Ryelass assured.

"Forgive me, this past week as been, well, just terrible. It's hard to adjust to life all alone," she sobbed. We all waited patiently for her to finish and Ryelass handed her a handkerchief. She dabbed at her eyes, then gathered her composure.

"I don't expect this of you, but if you want to help me, I'd be grateful. In the sewers below our city there lurks a horrid creature that hungers for human flesh. The creature has killed many, including my son and my husband. If you destroy it, I will reward you. But be careful, this creature has already taken many. The sewer entrance is currently watched over by Griez himself, but he'll let you through once you tell him Jerhyn sent you. It's just up the street near the gate," she said quietly.

"We'll do it Atma. We'll avenge them," Ryelass vowed.

"Yes," said Scorpious, "and the only reward we will require is your peace of mind."

A tear slid down Atma's cheek, as a burly man in the corner teetered in his chair calling for more ale loudly. "Back to business, I guess. Nathan and his father wouldn't just want me to give up on the tavern that we've spent so many years building and maintaining. Now, it's all I have left of them. If you'll excuse me," she said ruefully and went to serve her patron.

"God I swear, everything has just gone to hell for her while I was away," Ryelass said angry at the situation.

"Well, cursing isn't going to get us anywhere. Let's go see Fara," Scorpious suggested, "Chyemme and I need our armor repaired and perhaps she will be able, as a paladin of Zakarum, to give us some weapons against this creature."

"One self-righteous jester is enough for me. I'll wait for you at the end of the street," Piricus said with distain and without waiting for a reply he walked off.

"Good. I don't want to make a bad impression with lady StrongFist," Scorpious said in relief and we all walked down the street, lead by Ryelass. We arrived in town square, and as expected, it was full of people, vendors and merchants of all sorts. Several called out to us to buy their wares as we walked by, and I briefly scanned their tables, looking for anything that could be of use.

There was a cloth merchant, a rug merchant, a wood carver, a jeweler and a man selling pelts. I noticed an old man in a tall red hat, not unlike Deckard Cain hand someone a red vial furtively. He looked at me with a funny expression and waved me on. We soon came upon an open end of the town square with a forge and an anvil and row upon row of weapons on racks. There, in the middle was a woman in a plain white shirt and black pants, with her sleeves pulled back, pounding a flat piece of glowing red metal. She had fire-orange hair, like Cloudyous and several deep wrinkles on her face, undoubtedly from years of hard work.

Scopious stood up strait and walked towards her. The woman, Fara, looked up at him and the gold cross upon his armor. Her smile was irreplaceable.

"Welcome brother paladin!" she said brightly.

"Lady Strongfist, your reputation precedes you. I am Scorpious of the new order of Zakarum, it is an honor," he said and bowed before her.

Fara nodded. "I was once a champion of the former Zakarum, but I have heard only wonders about the new order. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, my brother. What can I do for you?" she asked with a smile.

"Well," Scorpious began and beckoned me over. "My friend Chyemme and I were in a fight with the most foul creature last night and regrettably, our armor needs repair. Also, I was hoping, seeing as you are a former champion of the light, you could perhaps shed some light on this situation and give us suggestions for weapons we could possibly use. My lady, though it shames me to admit this, my abilities and the blessing upon my weapon were not enough to destroy the creature," Scorpious explained.

Fara considered to herself a moment. "I see. You must be going after Radament, he who seeks flesh. Yes, I see. A true task and a duty to one such as yourself. Regrettably, I have nothing which can aid you, I gave my best weapons to Atma's son and husband and to Griez's mercenaries that went after the creature," she said regretfully.

"Do you have anything made out of truesilver?" I asked, recalling Maria's words.

Fara shook her head. "No, but if I did that would benefit you greatly. I'm afraid what you're asking is a very rare metal. Though, Lut Gholein is the trade capital of Sanctuary. My guess would be that someone here has it. If you could bring me some, I would gladly fashion it into weapons you could use."

"Damn," Ryelass growled. "We don't have time to go shopping. We need to be in and out before nightfall."

"On the contrary," said Scorpious, "it will take time to repair our armor. Unless you wish Chyemme and myself to remain behind, because I will not suffer either of us to go unprepared and at a disadvantage, we have time enough to look around."

"Fara," Ryelass asked, "how long will the repairs take?"

Fara considered to herself. "These are simple tasks. No more than an hour I should say."

"Very well, an hour it is," replied Scorpious, as he unfastened and removed his breastplate and I gave her my bracer. "My lady, do you know where we stand the best chance to find such metal? Maybe limit down our choices?"

Fara nodded. "Aliana, the jewel crafter might have some. You might ask Lysander, the alchemist. Sometimes they use metals as a reagent, and then you might also ask Elzix, the innkeeper. He seems to have all sorts of knickknacks, or at the very least he'll know where to get them. He used to be a bandit," Fara advised.

"I see. Thank you, my lady, we'll return shortly," he assured, then turned to us. "Let's split up. Ryelass go with Laurella and Alminus to the jeweler. Sovellis and I will go see Lysander, and Chyemme and Maria go see Elzix."

Belthem gave a short bark and Scorpious smiled. "You can go with whoever you want to, just don't get lost."

Without really anyone saying anything, Belthem walked over to my side and nudged my legs. "Right, let's go Maria," I said and she nodded.

"I know where I'm going," she said, "I've been here many times before. Stay close."

We left the others and made our way quickly up and down winding roads, passing seemly more people everywhere we went.

"So where did you go last night Maria?" I asked curiously, wondering if she would answer.

"To see an old friend. Like I said, I've been here before. Though I never stay in one spot for long, if I had to say I've lived somewhere, this would be it," she answered without turning around. "However, I will not being staying there. If Ryelass permits, I will stay with the rest of you, if not, I guess I find a room at the inn."

"I don't know why he wouldn't let you. You two get along pretty well. His mother is very kind, I think she would like you," I offered.

Maria snorted. "I can get anyone to like me, at least for a little while. It's all about knowing people."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked with a shiver.

"It means when you do what I do, you'd better learn people very quick. You learn how to get them to loosen up, things that make them scared, things that make them reckless. You learn how to manipulate the situation so you're always in charge," she said simply.

"Is it an act then for everyone you meet? That you pretend to get along with us?" I asked in concern.

She shook her head. "No, I genuinely like some people. Though if I'm doing what I'm supposed to, you'll never be able to tell."

"You like Scorpious," I said bluntly and Maria stiffened slightly.

"I trust him. Trust and like are two different things," she replied. "Here we are. Just let me talk to him, he likes to babble and he did, after all, used to be a bandit. I don't want him cheating us out of what we need or our money."

Maria walked up to the building's door and knocked. Within moments, and old man in loose clothing surfaced into the doorway.

"Hi there, name's Elzix. What can I do for you? Looking for accommodations?" he asked.

"No," Maria said curtly, "we're looking for some exotic wares. We're told you're the man to see."

Elzix raised his eyebrows. "Exotic? What type of exotic we talkin' here? I don't sell the spice if that's what you're getting at."

"No, we're looking for a specific metal," Maria said, being unspecific. "Can we see your wares?"

Elzix looked around. "Oh, I guess so, come in," he said and let us into the room, which was lined with things of all sorts.

Maria and I scanned the room quickly, and I noticed some pieces of metals, but I didn't get the feeling that's what we were looking for. Maria too seemed disappointed. Then, she spotted something hanging on the wall, a shining, silver spear.

"How much is that?" Maria asked, nodding at it.

Elzix looked up. "Oh that, it's not for sale. It was my grandfather's."

Maria didn't give up. "So you can't put a price on it? How about a trade?"

Elzix sighed. "You'd have to have something really good, even then," he said uncertainly.

"I have a sapphire, a ruby, a diamond, three times its weight in gold, and several different potions, I can get just about anything you want," Maria said plainly.

"No thanks missy, I used to be a bandit, I've had more than enough of my share of gold. And if I wanted a potion, I could go see Lysander easy," Elzix said stubbornly.

"Isn't there anything you would take?" I asked, speaking up. Maria gave me a disapproving glare, but Elzix looked me over and smiled.

"Well now, I didn't see you before. You're a pretty lass. What's your name?" he asked flirtatiously.

I blinked and opened my mouth.

"She's not your concern," Maria snapped irritably.

"Well, hang on now missus. Hold your horses. I see something' I like," he said with a sly smile.

"No. She's not for sale, and she might just beat the tar out of you for treating her like a common whore," Maria scowled.

"Wait Maria. He didn't even say what he wanted yet," I said calmly.

"He's a man, what do you think he wants," Maria said pointedly.

"I didn't mean any disrespect, I'm just sayin'. If you really wanted that thing then a night of her company wouldn't be so bad. Nobody has to know. Come on now, I'm better than I look," he laughed.

I coughed. "I'm sorry, I'm a priestess. I'm not allowed to do such a thing," I said, turning red.

"Like I said, don't ask don't tell eh?" he said with a grin.

"Enough of this, now you're wasting my time. Let's go Chyemme," Maria growled and grabbed my arm, walking for the door.

"Wait," I said considering to myself for a moment.

"What?" Maria asked impatiently.

"I'll roll you for it," I said noticing the dice on the table next to him. I'll give you what you want if you win, but if I win, you have to give that spear to us," I announced.

Maria blinked and so did Elzix. "Really? Well then come on girl! I love to gamble, have a seat!"

Maria looked at me, then a look of knowing crossed her face, though she said not a word. She walked over and placed a metal ring in my hand. "For luck," she lied.

"So, name your game?" I asked.

Elzix laughed. "I like guessing games, so how about this? I'll roll these dice three times, and if you can guess even one out of the three, you win," he suggested.

I nodded. "Roll."

Elzix took the dice, put them in a cup and then put the cup on the table, swirling them around. I put my hands on the table, with Maria's ring on my finger. He stopped, then lifted the lid to take a look. "What's your guess?" he asked.

"One on the right and one on the left," I answered.

Elzix laughed and showed them to me. The one on the right was a two. "That's one," he taunted.

Maria stood behind me the whole time, still as a statue and silent as the grave. Her eyes bore down intently into the cup as Elzix shifted them around once more.

_Move your hand closer. _ I nearly jumped when I heard Maria's voice in my head. How in the name of Zerae had she managed that? I'd known her about a month and in that entire time I had no idea she was telepathic. _Focus_! She said forcefully, though Elzix was unaware.

"How about now, miss?" Elzix asked as he looked. "One on the left, three on the right," I said, sure I had it right.

"Nope. Gonna make up an excuse for the wife, this'll be fun," Elzix laughed.

_Chyemme, when he moves his hand,_ _Maria_ began mentally.

_Move exactly opposite, _I said back, unsure if she heard me, but a quick psychic affirmative from her told me she did.

"I've even got something cute for you to wear," Elzix laughed as he rolled the dice the third time. As he did, I discreetly clasped my hands together and leaned over the table. He lifted the lid. "Alright missy, last shot."

"One on the right, one on the left," I said with a smile. Elzix blinked. "I don't believe it! You're right! Okay, you cheated I know it," he huffed.

"How did I cheat? You saw me the whole time. I didn't rock the table in the slightest or peak or anything," I said truthfully.

"I don't know but that's really lucky. It doesn't matter, it's all in good fun, but I'm afraid you'll have to leave now," Elzix said sorely.

"Not without the spear," I said firmly.

"Oh that, did you really think I was serious? Come on now , its an heirloom!" he insisted bluntly.

"I'll tell you what's serious," Maria said plainly, "you will enforce your end of the bargain, or I will tell your wife about this. And I will tell Griez that all the spears you've given his soldiers are made of painted zinc and not steel."

Elzix gaped at her. "You have no proof!"

"Your wife is a jealous woman, I know that from everyone in town. And your ring is magnetic. While you were waving your hand around, the spears on the wall behind you were shuttering on their pegs. Spears made out of steel shouldn't be effected by such a small magnet," Maria said plainly.

Elzix sighed. "Alright, alright. You've got a point. Here, take the damn thing and get out of my sight," he said, tossing the spear at us and shoving us out the door. We walked away calmly, like nothing had happened before speaking once we were out of earshot.

"You're a telepath!" I exclaimed. "How the hell did I miss that?"

Maria sighed. "You're not the first."

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked, offended.

"Because I didn't want you, or anyone else to know. Speaking of which, I don't want you telling people this, am I understood?" she said dangerously.

"Yes, but why did you use it now and not before?" I inquired.

"As a general rule of thumb, I don't use it. It drops the defenses on my mind and anyone or anything can get in. I only did it because one, you could hear me and I trust you more or less, and two, Elzix is not mage nor does he have even the slightest hint of mental or magical talent," she said bluntly.

"But it could help you in so many ways," I insisted.

Maria stopped walking. "No, it's a curse. I almost died because of it. If I don't use it, I'm not at risk. We got what we needed, can I have my ring back?" she asked plainly.

"Oh, sorry," I said and handed it back to her.

"I'm surprised you knew it's magnetic," Maria said, more gently this time.

"I watched when you were picking up things in there to look at them," I answered. "I watched the dice too when you walked by them. I knew they were magnetic. Hence, two magnets tugging in opposite directions flipped the dice straight. Wow," I laughed. "We need to go confess to Scorpious and be forgiven for cheating like that."

Maria snorted. "We beat a player at his own game. There's nothing sinful about that. We didn't cheat, we leveled the playing field," she insisted, though it was the closest thing to playful I had ever heard from her. "Hurry up, the others are probably waiting," she said, going back to her normal serious demeanor.

We arrived back in the town square and as Maria said, they were waiting for us.

"Anything?" Ryelass asked, looking at us. "Because all of us came up empty."

I held up the spear. "We had to pull out some tricks, but we got this."

"Excellent," said Scorpious brightly, now let's take it to Fara and see what she can do with it."

We walked over and after Scorpious and I retrieved our repaired armor, we presented Fara the spear. After several moments discussing, we agreed to melt it down, then coat our weapons in it. Most interesting of all, Fara even made something for Belthem. She made a sort of sword that she attached to the tip of his tail. After we all coated our weapons, there was still some left, which she assured us she would leave in Scorpious' care after it had cooled. Before we left however, I took the liberty of buying a new dagger for Piricus and having that coated as well.

After settling in, we all walked to the end of the street, where Piricus was scowling readily.

"What in the hell took so long? I was wondering if you got eaten by pigeons," he growled as I tossed the dagger at him. "What's this for? I already have one," he scowled at me.

"Not one like that," I assured.

He turned the weapon over in his hands. Then realization dawned on him. "Truesilver? This will do," is all he said.

"You're welcome," I said and he just glared.

"I believe our preparations are complete. Let's go and slaughter this creature before it can do any more harm," Scorpious said as we walked up the street.

There was a huge trapdoor in the road that I could see and a large, armored man standing over it. We walked up and he scowled at us.

"Move along peasants. Nothing to see here," he scowled.

"You must be Lord Greiz. Lord Jerhyn sent us here to deal with the creature," Laurella said to him.

Greiz snarled. "I don't know about the lord part, but yeah, I'm Greiz. Jerhyn sent you to kill Radament? Hell, I sent more men than you lot down there three days ago and the only one that came back was half there," he hissed.

"Yes, well, we're competent," Piricus said bluntly. I expected Greiz to be mad, be instead he just laughed.

"Is that so? I don't think you'll feel that way after Radament has peeled the flesh off your bones and eaten you," he said plainly.

"Flesh and bone serve me, not the other way around. Now, out of the way fool, you're doing a Trag 'Oul damn good job standing around up here being useless," Piricus said rudely.

"I keep this city safe! If you notice it's me and my mercenaries, not the town guards! So it's me you should worry about, not Jerhyn!" Greiz snapped fiercely.

"I'd worry about you, or maybe even respect you if you hadn't let a thousand and one people be eaten and make me go through this forsaken mess to begin with to fix your incompetence," Piricus snapped back.

"Who do you think you are stranger? Tyreal?" Greiz barked.

"No. I'm a hell of a lot worse. Now move. Mind your own damn business and let me pass," Piricus snapped.

Greiz scowled and kicked the trap door open with his foot, revealing the dank, foul space below. "You want in so badly, go. I'll laugh if they even manage to bring half your body back topside."

Piricus laughed. "You know what, I think I'll bring the bones of your men back topside, just for you."

"You'll what?" he asked, surprised.

"It's not what you think," Ryelass hissed. "Don't ask."

Piricus didn't say anything else, instead he just jumped down the trap door and I heard him land nimbly below. "Hurry up fools. Let's get this over with," he called up and just like that, we followed him without another word.


	4. Chapter 4

-1AN: Good lord, sorry guys. School has just been heck on earth. Now that it's finished for a little while I'll try to write more.

Disclaimer: I do not own Diablo or Diablo 2, I'm just playing around in their world

Flesh Mage

Chyemme

I wrinkled my nose. It stank to say the least. They were called sewers for a reason. My guess is that if Vendra had been here, she would have said something about it too. What a disgusting task. I eyed the trails of putrid water on the floor leaking excrement with it.

"Well ain't this charmin?" Alminus growled, taking a whiff.

"I agree. This is disgusting," Ryelass growled.

"I will be even more disgusting the closer we get to this Trag 'Oul damned monster. Well, more disgusting for the lot of you anyway. Bits of flesh and blood don't bother me at all. In fact, I hope there are some. Something actually useful unlike the lot of you," Piricus sneered.

"Yur makin' a bad situation worse. Shut up," Alminus growled.

Piricus laughed. "I just speak the truth."

" We don't have time for banter," Scorpious said bluntly. "We need to keep moving so things won't sneak up on us."

"Nothing undead sneaks up on me, paladin," Piricus scoffed.

"Well then how about you go first, if you're so sure?" Ryelass scowled.

"You know what? I think I will. We'll get there faster," Piricus said with a smirk.

"It's dark as pitch in here," Laurella said as she came down alongside Belthem.

"Me expect so. I make these," Sovellis said simply and pulled several glowing objects from his bag.

"Fire-Iron," Maria said observing them.

"What do they do?" Laurella asked.

"They make you glow like a damn torch," Piricus snorted. "Which is why I won't be taking one."

"Well, if we can't see we're not gettin' very far," Alminus countered. "I'll take one," he said and Sovellis handed one to him.

"Where did you get these?" Laurella asked curiously, picking one up.

"I make," he said proudly.

"You made these? That's amazing," I said reaching for one.

"It simple," he said modestly.

"Interesting," Scorpious said looking it over. "It's warm."

"That's because it's the essence of fire, moron. Were you not listening paladin when he said fire-iron?" Piricus growled.

"Merely an observation," Scorpious countered, refusing to let Piricus' insults take to heart.

Sovellis handed one to Maria, whom shook her head. "I'm fine. I see better in the dark anyway."

"Good call, assassin. You might be smarter than you look," Piricus laughed. "Why don't all of you just paint large targets on yourselves. That way the monsters are sure to miss you."

"Alright Piricus. We're ready to go," I said to him disapprovingly.

"He's not going alone," Maria snapped. "I will be up there with him."

"Don't trust me?" he mocked.

"Not in the slightest," she hissed. "Get moving."

"Don't get pushy assassin, I don't take well to being ordered around," he said, amused.

"We have a job to do. Let's get in and get out," I rebuked.

"There, you have a point amazon. Come on half-wits," he said snidely and began walking into the blackness.

We walked in what seemed like forever. It didn't take us long to realize that the sewers were like the city streets above. A maze of paths. We found several dead ends before coming to a tunnel that forked in three directions.

"Which way?" Laurella asked uneasily, eyeing the blackness.

"Should we split up?" Ryelass asked, checking each of them.

"Probably," Piricus said suddenly. "You don't want to be together when those hit!" he said quickly as three bright balls of fire flew out of the center tunnel like a death trap. Everyone sprang aside or rolled under them. The fiery projectiles smashed into the walls behind us like fireworks of light.

"What now?" Ryelass grumbled, readying himself.

"These things are in the tunnels. Those fire balls are coming from a source straight in front of us," Scorpious informed. "Stay off to the side and they won't hit."

"That says nothing for a counter attack, paladin. I want to take them out before they get here and trap us where we're at," Piricus hissed.

"Come up to the side Laurella," I said quickly as we both made our way to the opposite edges. More fireballs came flying past, blasting into the stone beside us. Volley after volley they came, until I could make out the dim outlines of skeletons and hear their creaking bones. "Wait for it," I instructed. "Now!" We both leaned around the edges and took careful aim. I threw a javelin and she shot an arrow. My javelin crackled with lightning and hers burst into flame.

Her arrow hit an oncoming skeleton, but did nothing. There was not even a cloud of smoke. Alminus grabbed the back of her armor and yanked her swiftly out of the way. My javelin did some damage, it hit a skeleton in the head. Lightning crackled over it's body causing it to explode.

"Tha's different," Alminus snorted. "Why did it explode?"

"My skeletons have more knowledge than the lot of you," Piricus growled. "Those skeletons are called burning dead. They're animated by energy and fire. Heat doesn't bother them in the slightest, in fact it makes them stronger," he said as he yielded aside. Another, more powerful flare flew directly down the pipeline and smashed into the wall. It exploded and sent rock debris flying everywhere.

"Like that," he said sarcastically.

"Then how are we supposed to defeat them? They'd gun us down before we got anywhere close for our swords, we have no room to maneuver around them," Ryelass snapped.

"What about ice?" Laurella asked.

"Useless, rogue," Piricus said rolling his eyes. "I don't know about where you live, but in the rest of the world, fire melts ice," he said bluntly.

"Then lightning is the only thing that will work," Scorpious said. "Chyemme and Sovellis, take them out together."

Sovellis nodded. "Good plan. Come Chyemme," he said quickly. We waited for another barrage of fireballs, then both of us used lightning. Me from my javelins and him from his hands. There was a series of cracking sounds, followed by explosions. We waited for moments, and there was only silence. I peered in carefully and all I could see was smoke.

"They're gone," Piricus assured bluntly.

"How do you know?" Laurella asked, leery.

"Because they're not talking anymore," he stated plainly.

"Well that solves that," Ryelass grumbled.

"Which way?" Alminus asked.

"How about the one not laden with monsters," Ryelass growled.

"You really do know nothing, warrior. Follow the body trail. The more monsters there are, the closer we are getting to something. If we don't find anything, we're going the wrong way," Piricus said rolling his eyes.

"He's right," Maria said simply and stepped into the tunnel. We walked over the smoldering remains of the strange red skeletons and into the rest of the tunnels.

"We should be getting close," Laurella said, looking around. "Do you know, Ryelass?"

He sighed. "I know Lut Gholein, or at least the top side. But, no one ever comes down here, including me. I've never had reason too before now. Though, I do know these sewers are several layers deep. See," he said, tapping the floor. "Hollow."

"Great. This thing's prolly at tha bottom," Alminus said with a scowl.

"Did you expect it to be somewhere else?" Maria asked bluntly.

"No, but it's such a pain in tha ass," he insisted.

"Just hug one of the walls," Scorpious suggested, "and follow it as it snakes around. That way we'll know where we're at and where we came from."

"Which way, left or right?" Laurella asked.

"Stay to the right. The left will take us back to the waterline," Maria answered.

We followed Scorpious' advice and stayed along the right wall. We took several turns, then found ourselves in a long, straight hallway. We could see what looked like a staircase leading down. We walked a few steps.

Piricus hissed. "Here we go again," he snapped. He quickly placed his hands on the ground. Out of nowhere, or perhaps down below, bones sprung up in front of us like a shield. Fireballs pounded on the bone, threatening to take it out quickly. Scorpious and Ryelass ran around it, with shields raised.

Fireballs bounced off their shields and made them glow a red color, but neither of them dropped them. Scorpious got there first and smashed his shield into the ribcage of a skeleton that was in the middle of casting. It knocked the creature backwards off balance. Scorpious sideswiped his shield, knocking the monster sideways and into his reach. With a powerful swipe of his sword, the head of the skeleton came flying off.

Another red monstrosity charged him, though this one was not a mage. Its sword was on fire. Scorpious locked blades with it. White fire flared up to meet the orange and the two flames battled over each other over their blades. Scorpious grabbed the monster's other arm with his shield arm. You could hear the burning sound as the heat seared into the gloves on the underside of his armor. He hissed, but yanked the monster away from him, pulling it out to the side. It followed the motion of his arm as he swung the skeleton in a complete circle directly into the tip of his sword. The blessed weapon pierced the skeleton's spine, snapping it. It fell to the ground in two pieces and continued moving until Scorpious stepped on its back with his armored foot and beheaded it. White fire flowed over the remains, incinerating it.

Ryelass had engaged himself with the second undead mage. It threw a fireball at him, but he blocked with his shield. He closed the distance between them swiftly. The undead beast forgot about casting. It took both hands and grabbed Ryelass' shield. Ryelass pulled back on it, building up some tension, then he just let it go. The force put the skeleton on the ground where he beheaded it. White fire poured off his blade too, charring the body to ash.

"Behind you!" Laurella yelled in worry.

Ryelass spun on his heels and threw his sword over his head, parrying an oncoming blow. He kicked at the creature, burning the leather of his boots, but the creature stumbled backwards. Ryelass swung with his sword and was blasted backwards when the lightning effect his sword had met with the flame of his enemy. He coughed as he landed on the ground, though his assailant had been blasted to pieces.

Sensing an opportunity, two more skeletons rushed him. Alminus was at his side in a flash. He grabbed the sword arm of one and ripped it off in one hand, then grabbed the skeleton's head with the other and crushed it. There was a small bit of smoke on his hands, but he turned them over and blew on them. I saw some light burn marks there, but he didn't seem troubled in the least. He had the toughest skin of any man I knew.

Maria vaulted over Piricus' shield and landed in front of the remaining skeleton. Putting all her weight on one foot, she twirled on the other in a sweeping motion, taking the legs out from the skeleton. She slammed her katars, sparking with lightning, into it's ribs. She yielded aside at the second of impact, making sure she wouldn't be caught in the explosion as bone chips went everywhere.

It was quiet after that and Piricus dropped his shield.

"Thanks for that," I said in earnest.

"I was saving my own ass, that's all," he said simply, though his voice didn't have the usual sarcasm.

"Let's move on," Maria said, brushing the smoke away from her face. "There's the stairs, right there."

"You still want to go down first, Piricus?" Ryelass asked rudely.

"Well I wouldn't mind if you walked in front of me. Less work when I don't have to conjure a shield," he retorted, just as rude.

I thought he was going to say something else, but Piricus just walked ahead and with Maria they went down the stairs.

The smell only got worse and so did the cold. There was no air, but there always something about the dark that was cold. Without meaning to, I breathed in. I coughed. It smelled like--

"Death. Something died in here," Laurella said with a shiver.

"Do monsters and skeletons still scare you, rogue? You cringe at the sight of everything," Piricus mocked.

"Leave alone," Sovellis said bluntly.

Belthem sniffed the area and wrinkled his own nose.

"What do you see?" Laurella asked him.

He snorted, then walked ahead cautiously. We followed him and with the light of our medallions we came upon a gruesome sight. Not only did it smell like death, it smelled like blood. And blood was coating the floor. Dead guards, or maybe mercenaries were scatted about the room like wildflowers. Parts of them had been dismembered and the rot had set in. Many had disfiguring injures that looked like they had met a violent and painful end.

"What happen here?" Sovellis asked quietly looking around. "They no have burns," he said in reference to the skeletons we had seen up above.

Maria turned one of them over and checked his injuries. "They were killed by blades, the slashes are clean."

"Blades? Well they can't have been the blades from above. Those were on fire," Laurella admitted.

"Something did this with great force," Ryelass said, looking it over with distaste. "It cut arms off like they were nothing, there aren't multiple slashes or hacks in the arms. They came clean off," Ryelass explained.

"You're right," Scorpious replied, checking them over.

"Do you think they turned on each other?" Laurella asked uncertainly.

"They're not that strong," I stated.

"Let's move on, and keep alert," Scorpious advised.

"Paladin you are beginning to sound like a parrot. That seems to be your favorite line," Piricus growled. "Keep saying it and I will stuff you like one."

"It's tha truth, tha's wha' we should be doin'" Alminus retorted.

"You are the king of obvious next to the paladin here," Piricus retorted. "But, let me put this pathetic mess to good use," he grumbled. He raised his hands and green energy poured off them. Bones from all the corpses burst forth from the bodies and from the appendages. They pulled themselves magically together into gleaming white skeletons.

Scorpious snarled, a startling thing from him. "They deserved to rest in peace!"

"They were resting," he laughed, "In pieces."

Maria hissed as she watching him. "You're dangerously close to stepping over my line."

"I don't see what your problem is. They're already dead. The only thing they were doing was sitting around taking up space and befouling the air. They wanted to defend this pathetic place and now they will. They'll do what's really important," he snorted. "They'll level the playing field. You think Radament is by himself? I don't," he said plainly.

Scorpious had a nasty look on his face.

"Ooh. Touchy are we paladin? Well, why don't you do what you normally do? Say a useless prayer and get over it," Piricus laughed.

Scorpious scowled, then closed his eyes. He took a deep breath then let it out slowly. "I'm not going to fight with you, Piricus, no matter how much you goad me." He turned away from the carnage and walked forward.

We walked in silence, the only thing we could hear was the crunching of bones as Piricus' minions walked. We were in a small hallway when Piricus stopped.

"Piricus, are you alright?" I asked in concern.

"Be quiet, amazon," he said sternly and he closed his eyes, as if listening to something.

"What's the hold up?" Ryelass asked sourly.

Piricus snapped his fingers rudely, telling him to be quiet. He opened them at last.

"Well?" Ryelass growled.

"I found him," Piricus answered. "I found Radament. I can hear the damn thing's voice below us. That, and it sounds like he's having a party down there. There are dozens of voices if not more. There are so many I can't even count them. Twenty, maybe more," he admitted. "Damned thing is a necromancer. Like me," he added.

"How can you be dead and a necromancer at the same time?" I asked confused.

"He must have been a mage in life," Piricus answered. "And part of his soul stayed here in stead of returning to the cycle of being."

"Um, guys?" Alminus asked quickly.

"What is it fool?" Piricus snarled.

"We ain't got time ter worry 'bout wha's down there. We got company up here," he hissed.

Belthem snarled and took a ready stance. There was a dragging sound, and in the shadows I could make out several enormous things coming out of the darkness toward us.

When they were in the light, they looked somewhat humanoid. They were tremendously tall, and very thin. They had long, stretched faces and fountains of jet-black hair on their heads. They had four arms all together, that were thick, but elongated. They had some jewelry on, some metal bands around their arms. They were also wearing human skulls as necklaces and earrings. Each was holding four, long bloodstained swords.

"Guess now we know wha' happened," Alminus growled, readying his axe.

"Sand Raiders," Maria hissed. "Move as far into them as you can. They have a long reach but not a good range of motion," she warned.

One of the new demons opened its mouth, but it just hissed. Apparently it was a language the others understood because they all started forward. There were four of them.

Laurella didn't waste anytime, she shot one of the monsters in the eye with a flaming arrow. It hissed and grabbed it's face with one hand.

"Now!" she insisted and she, Ryelass, and Alminus charged one.

Scorpious said a quick prayer and I felt an invigorating strength in my limbs. He and Maria charged after another one. Sovellis grabbed my arm, "Let get this one," he suggested.

"Piricus?" I asked uncertainly.

"Don't worry, amazon. I can take care of myself," he assured briskly. He didn't have much time for anything else. He jumped back to avoid a sword strike then to the side to avoid another. He and his skeletons all rushed the towering demon.

I didn't have time to worry about him. I dodged a slamming sword strike of my own. The blade hit the floor and left a rend in it. Sovellis beside me moved out of the way too.

"I have idea," Sovellis said quickly. "Go behind," he said quickly.

I didn't ask, I just did. The demon took two more damaging swings with two of its arms. I ran between its legs and watched as the demon too a swing at Sovellis. It missed him by inches, but he reached out and grabbed the end of a monstrous sword. He said a few words, then lightning flew up the blade through the arm and then caught on all the metal the creature had on its body. It twitched, but then dropped it's weapons out of reflex. It stumbled, but regained itself quickly. Without warning it grabbed Sovellis and hoisted him into the air.

I knew this was part of the plan to keep him preoccupied. I took my lightning javelin, jumped up and slammed it into the back of the creature's knee. The muscles twitched, then locked up. The creature fell forward, dropping Sovellis. Once it was down I ran up its back then plunged another of my javelins into the base of its head. The creature's blood oozed out all over the place and I heard it breathe its last.

Alminus, Laurella and Ryelass had heeded Maria's warning and were gathered around the base of the feet of their monster. It grabbed around at them and all of them ran under its legs. It tried to catch them, but tripped over the length of its own appendages. Once it was down, all three of them jumped on its back like I had done and struck the creature's neck, putting an end to it.

Scorpious and Maria were having a bit of trouble. They had both pulled into the monster, but it leaned over and whipped Maria with its hair. The force of the strike sent her backwards. It ignored Scorpious completely as he slashed at its legs. It raised an arm and sent a sword crashing down. Out of nowhere, Belthem leapt into the air and bit down hard on one of the monster's fingers. He shook his head hard back and forth, refusing to let go. The demon roared in pain and without really thinking, swung at him with another arm. Belthem let go just as the blade sliced where he would have been. The monster cut its own arm off and it fell to the floor with a loud impact. Maria recovered and got a running start. She leapt into the air and slammed lightning-enhanced katars into the creature's knee. It stumbled forward. Scorpious drove his sword into the monster's heel and twisted, cutting a deep tear there. Having two injured legs the monster fell backwards. Belthem grabbed the back of Scorpious' breastplate and yanked him out of the way as the creature came tumbling down. Maria ran atop the flailing monster and jammed both her katars into its throat, yanking it out.

I turned my attention to Piricus, he had been the only one fighting alone. Well, not alone if you counted his minions. These monsters didn't seem to be really smart because they were easily distracted. It batted at his skeletons, paying no attention to him as he ran by. There was a loud crunching sound as a sword crumbled a skeleton. I expected Piricus to be angry, but he seemed to have been expecting that. He waited until the last second, then climbed onto the monster's arm. The thing flailed wildly and struck at him with its other swords. He was quick and each time, the monster only hit more and more of its own arm. It howled in agony and raised its hands over its head. Piricus slid down the arm onto the demon's shoulders behind its head. He wrapped his legs around the base of its neck to hold himself in position before reaching around and raking his dagger fiercely across the creature's throat under its jaw. Blood splattered everywhere as its head flopped halfway off. It fell forward. Piricus rode the motion smoothly untill he was back on the ground.

"That was impressive," I said with a laugh. "To think you did that all by yourself."

He smirked. "Like I said, I don't need anybody. Most of the time, everyone else is in the way."

"We should continue down," Laurella said.

"No," Piricus said bluntly.

"Why not?" Alminus asked with distain.

"Because they heard the ruckus up here, moron. They're all coming to us as we speak. I can hear them," Piricus growled.

"We'll never get to Radament if we have to fight through that. If they fall, he'll just raise another. Just like Blood Raven," I pointed out.

"I think we should drop in on him," Piricus said with a laugh.

"What?" Ryelass asked sarcastically.

"Just what I said, imbecile. We're right above him and most of his army is in the halls on their way up here. This damn floor is hollow, you said it yourself," Piricus admitted, tapping his foot on it.

"But it's stone," I said.

"All stones kin be broken," Alminus announced. "If ya put 'nough weight on 'em."

"You alone should be enough then," Laurella said, eyeing his massive frame.

"I'll try. Hang on," he said and walked over. He raised his axe up high and smashed it into the floor. The rock crumbled a ways before he bashed it in with his leg. Sure enough, it gave way and were staring into a grizzly room below. Bones, blood, and especially slices of flesh were all over the floor. There was a loud hiss as the creature we had seen yesterday immediately looked up.

"Fresssh Flesssh!" it said excitedly.

"Go on, I got 'im," Alminus insisted and without another word he jumped through the hole and landed on top of Radament. Alminus grabbed both the things arms and they grappled fiercely as the rest of us fell in. There were still several skeletons in the room and all of them immediately closed in on us.

I turned my immediate attention to three black skeletons that charged me at once. I grabbed the butt of my javelin and swung it like an enormous sword, batting them away. They fell down but two more crawled over them, with raised swords. I slid the javelin in my grasp, putting the shaft in the middle of my hands and threw it up over my head to block. I lashed out with my right foot and knocked one away, then struck out with my left, hitting the other one. They fell on the floor with the three others. I focused my will power and lightning lit my javelin, which I then plunged into the pile of them with a shower of sparks. The bones exploded, leaving nothing but chips behind.

"Watch out!" Scorpious insisted. He was at my side in a flash and threw his sword out sideways in front of us. A black ball of light came streaking towards us. It hit Scorpious' blessed sword and white light flared up over it, neutralizing it.

"That will suck the life out of you if it hits," he said gravely.

I watched Ryelass kill two skeletons in one swing and turn to help Laurella. "Ryelass! Your sword!" Scorpious called out to him in worry. Ryelass turned around and batted another black ball of light away with his blessed sword too.

Maria was weaving in and out of skeletons dealing mortal blows as effortless as if she were dancing and I watched Sovellis send sparks of lightning in all directions, felling several more.

Piricus' minions were around him, fighting back a tide of enemy undead while he blasted his way through the crowd.

Alminus roared in pain as Radament got the best of him. The demon head butted him, stunning him and making him stumble. The thing took one of the blades on its arm and stabbed him in the shoulder. The smell of fresh blood was sending it into a frenzy. It hacked at him mercilessly. He dodged as best as he was able, though strikes were still grazing his body. I wanted to help him, but was still tied up in my own battle.

An uppercut from the monster put a slash in his face from his jaw to his ear. The upward motion sent him flying into the air, through the cloud of undead and into Piricus. They both fell over in a heap. Alminus tried to say something, but his head had struck the ground in the fall. He was out like a light in seconds.

Piricus swore loudly and struggled underneath the gargantuan man's weight. He finally managed to wiggle out from under him. He got to his feet as Radament came thundering through his minions, slicing through them intoxicated by the smell of blood.

Piricus scowled as the creature closed in on them. His skeletons tried to defend him, but the demon slashed them to pieces.

"Flesshhh!" it croaked hungrily.

"Not mine," Piricus hissed as the thing reached for him. Piricus blasted energy into it, but it bounced off and did nothing. He threw a bone spear, but that splintered and broke. It leaned down and tried to bite him, but he slammed his dagger into its face. The truesilver burned it some, but the creature didn't even register the pain. It blew a cloud of green gas into his face. Poison.

He rolled his eyes then slammed his shoulder into the monster, knocking it back some. He didn't seem phased in the slightest by the poison. The monster shoved him back then caught his shirt under the edge. It lifted him into the air, where he struggled to get free. He smashed his dagger repeatedly into every part of the creature he could reach, but it didn't seem to be doing any good.

We had cleared the skeletons and raced to help him, but Radament had other plans. With its free arm, it seemed to summon all the heaps of bones to life again.

"Freeze them!" Maria said quickly as we were all backed into a circle. "Freeze them then break them!"

"I shall," Sovellis said and threw both hands above his head. Frost started swirling around them and he worked his hands around it. Soon he was holding a shimmering blue orb that was laden with snowflakes and crystals. "Down!" he said quickly and released his spell. Ice spikes went flying in all directions, hitting and freezing everything they touched. That helped with the skeletons, soon they were nothing but ice statues. However the magic hit Radament and bounced off.

Piricus yelled out loudly and I watched in horror as Radament opened his massive mouth and clamped down hard on his shoulder. It began to chew on him, purring excitedly. Piricus' blood was pouring onto the floor at an alarming rate. I saw the pain in his face, but he didn't give up. He smashed one of his hands down on Radament's forehead and closed his eyes. He said a few words and strained hard. His curse began to take affect. Every part of Radament touching him, including his head began to shrivel away and decay, even more than the demon already was. Rot began to eat away at its face, grinding the diseased flesh down to bone. Radament's arms became nothing more than tendons and snapped effortlessly under Piricus' weight. Radament dropped him, having no more strength to hold him.

"Guys!" Ryelass shouted in worry. The skeletons that left to check the upper levels were back and flooding into the room.

I had an idea. "Hit the floor!" I shouted, taking my Fire-Iron medallion off my neck. I prepared a lightning javelin and tossed the medallion into the air. I aimed effortlessly and spiked the javelin through the middle of it. The explosion that followed blasted all the skeletons to pieces, frozen or not. Piricus, and everyone else was on the ground, so the blast went over us. To my surprise the blast even affected Radament. The force of the explosion blasted him apart. Demon blood and bits of rotten flesh rained down on the area.

"Disgusting," Ryelass hissed as he ran over to Alminus without another word.

Piricus managed to get to his knees and hissed in pain, grabbing his severely injured shoulder. He closed his eyes, breathing hard.

"Piricus!" I shouted in worry and ran over to him.

"Get away from me," he croaked, though it only had half his normal spunk in it.

"Let me help you," I said, pulling a strip of cloth from my bag.

"Don't, Chyemme," Scorpious said running over.

"Trying to do me in now, paladin?" Piricus growled.

"If you wrap that up it will fester and the infection could kill him. Use this first," he said handing me a vial of water with a strange symbol on it.

"Amazon don't you--" he snarled, but it was too late. I poured it over his wound. He writhed under it, but said nothing. He had his teeth gritted pretty tight. I watched as the bite marks began to foam and black ooze came out mixing with the blood as it dripped onto the floor.

"Chyemme, put pressure," Scorpious began but before he could finish, Piricus flopped over, unconscious.

"Good lord, he's losing a lot of blood, that bite went deep. Move, let me help him," Scorpious said urgently, taking the cloth from me.

He pressed it down hard on Piricus' shoulder and starting praying urgently. His holy energy washed over it and I saw his face struggle. The bleeding stopped but he still had a grave look on his face.

"Scorpious?" I asked quietly.

"He needs to see Fara, immediately. I've stopped the bleeding but the bite was infected. It had poison, dark energy and just plain vileness from eating flesh. The holy water only took a little out," he said urgently.

"Will he make it that long?" I asked, holding my breath.

"He's strong, and he's a necromancer. As much as I don't like them, they are immune to almost every poison there is. The poison and the infection aren't as bad for him, but the dark energy is. He has nothing to fight against that. I am strong and managed to halt it, but Fara is stronger, she will be able to cure it. She is older than me and has more experience," he explained.

"Then let's go," I said, putting my arms under him and picking him up.

"Are you going to carry him?" Scorpious asked with an amused smile.

"Are you going to tell him?" I asked with a laugh.

"No. He'd come after you in your sleep and me in mine for laughing, though I think he'd try to kill me anyway if he got the chance. But, this is no time for jokes. Carry him if you are up to it, or I will if need be," he answered.

"Northern stars," I heard Alminus mumble. "Wha' happened?" he asked, sitting up. He winced and rubbed his head.

"Radament knocked you out," Ryelass explained. "And lucky us, he got Piricus too."

"Be quiet," I growled at him.

He gave me a strange look. "Oh, that's right. You like him. I'd say I'm sorry, but I'm not. Instead I will say I am sorry for offending you," he offered.

"Yeah, buddy now's not tha time fur that," Alminus said, looking him over with pity.

"Are you well enough to walk?" Maria asked him.

"Yeah, should be. M' head hurts li' nothin' else, but I've had worse. Damn bastard," he growled, looking at his own shoulder. "I actually felt that. He got me purdy deep."

"We'll patch that up on the way," Maria assured.

"Hey guys?" Laurella began, walking over to a strange chest. "What are these?" she asked, taking out a book and a scroll.

"Let me look," Maria said, taking them from her. "Odd, this book is blank, but there's something special about it. We should take it to Cain and see what he thinks. The scroll too," she said unfurling it. The parchment was very brittle and had many smudges, but there were some clear symbols there.

"Look like mage write," Sovellis said, scanning it from across the room.

"I think you're right. This is very old by the looks of things, we should definitely seek the elder's advice," Maria affirmed.

"We need to leave. Now," I said, looking at Piricus' limp form.

"One thing," Ryelass said quietly. He walked over to a body that had been flayed like a fish, bones were sticking out and the flesh was missing, save for the hand. The hand had a ring on it with special engravings.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Atma's husband's wedding ring. She'll want it back. If nothing else to prove that we've slain the monster, and no doubt it will give her some sense of closure. I've got it. Let's go."


	5. Chapter 5

-1Gaia

Chyemme

"Hurry!" I insisted as we sprinted through the halls, back out the trap door. What Scorpious had said was true, we were able to find our way back in no time by following one wall.

Injured though he was, Alminus threw the trap door open and light spilled into the area. Griez blinked as we came flooding out.

"What happened?" he asked anxiously.

"The creature's dead," Scorpious assured and followed Ryelass so as not to get lost. We found the town square.

"Fara!" I said quickly to the smith as she was working.

She turned around and immediately abandoned her metalworking task. "Give him to me, quickly. Let's bring him around back."

We went around her forge to a small hut that must have been her house.

"Lay him here. Scorpious, what happened?" she asked, peeling back the bandage he had placed there.

"Radament nearly took his shoulder off, my lady," Scorpious said gravely.

"This bite, it's deep. You've grown considerably in skill since I saw you last my brother. You've halted the infection and stopped the bleeding. This much gives hope," she admitted.

"That thing was full of hellish energy. I tried to expel it, and I managed some, not all," he relayed.

"Well then, peace, brother. He shall be fine. I believe the Lord will save him, even if he does not believe in the Lord. The Lord is both kind and merciful," she said gently and ran her glowing hands over the area. Black mist shriveled out of the wound and more black liquid oozed out through the bite marks. It oozed until it was replaced by drops of bright red blood. The wounds then crusted over, though the marks remained.

"Give him this. It will help to replace some of the blood in his body, that's our greatest problem now," she explained and handed me a red healing potion.

"How long will he be out for?" I asked in worry.

"That depends. He is strong of will power, he will fight through this soon. An hour, maybe two after the potion," she assured.

"You mean strong of attitude," Ryelass hissed.

"Where should I take him?" I asked curiously. "He might kill you if he wakes up in your house. He despises paladins above all else."

"Where was he staying before?" Fara asked.

"I don't know," I admitted. "Not with us."

"Try the inn, Chyemme. That's the only other place I can think of," Maria suggested.

"I will then. Thank you fara for your help. Should we bandage that back up?" I asked in concern.

"No. Let it air out, the moisture will cause the skin to swell," she explained.

"Okay then. Guys I'm going to take Piricus back to the inn and wait on him to wake up there. You should all check in on Deckard Cain and show him what we found. I'll be back as soon as I can," I assured.

"Very well. Sovellis, you should check in on Vendra and see if she's doing any better," Scorpious suggested.

"This I do," Sovellis promised and with a nod, he left.

Belthem whined. "You should go see Cloudyous. My guess is that he's worried about you," I said to him gently.

"Come on, we'll go see him," Laurella assured and ruffled the fur on his neck.

"I'll show you the way to the inn," Ryelass promised me.

"I've been there once already, but I think that might be a good idea," I confessed.

"Let's go," he said giving Piricus a nasty look. Together we walked the streets in silence, people gave me odd looks when they saw that I was carrying an unconscious man. We arrived at the inn and Elzix was there.

"What room is he in?" I asked him politely.

He got a sly look on his face. "I thought you were a priestess?"

"I am. He's my friend, not my boyfriend. That, and he got into some trouble earlier today, he needs some rest," I said bluntly. "Please don't give me trouble," I growled.

"No worries, pretty lady. Room 17, upstairs. You want help carrying him?" he asked skeptically.

"I'm an amazon. I'm probably stronger than you are," I admitted.

I walked into the inn and walked up the stairs, though they were admittedly difficult under Piricus' weight. I found the room and reached for the handle, but it was locked. It wasn't too much of a problem, the key was dangling on Piricus' belt. I set him against the wall and reached for the door. My inner sight tweaked. There was a man in the room. He was standing silently by the window. He was dressed in all black, I couldn't see anything of him. I growled and silently picked up a javelin off my back.

I flung the door open and threw it with lightning speed. The stranger jumped, but seemed to have been expecting me as well. The javelin grazed the side of his arm before he jumped out of the way and was gone. I dashed to the window with another one, but the stranger had disappeared. I looked up, below, and sideways just to be safe. There was a thin trail of blood on the side of the wall that ended a sort ways and went down. The street below was crowded, people of every color were bustling about. There was no way I would be able to pick out any one particular person in the swarm of them.

That was it. I was definitely not leaving until Piricus was awake and could fend for himself. I walked back into the hall and picked him up. I walked over to his bed and laid him down. I administered the potion then sat on the bed beside him for a good while. I was beginning to think he'd never wake up when out of nowhere he snarled. He sprang upright, and lashed out at me. I caught his hand easily as he looked around wildly. He looked at me and snarled, then let go.

"What the hell are you doing in here---" he began nastily. He didn't finish the sentence, he grabbed his shoulder tightly.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay. That was a terrible bite," I admitted.

"You're right about that," he hissed. "What in the name of Trag 'Oul happened?" he snapped.

"You lost a lot of blood and passed out. We gave you a healing potion," I said, omitting my paladin friends altogether.

He shoved me hard, knocking me off the bed. "Don't lie to me! I'll rot out your tongue. A healing potion wouldn't fix this," he growled. "It was the damn paladin, wasn't it? I didn't need his help. I never need his help. I could have made an antidote to the thing's poison myself!"

"Not while you were unconscious," I said bluntly. "And Scorpious was able to halt it, not cure it. Fara had to do the rest. They said poison and infection wasn't a problem for you, it was the demonic energy," I relayed.

"I hate them," he hissed. "I hate all of them and their little islands of pretend. God didn't do this, they did. God does not exist," he growled.

"Then you do admit they have power," I pointed out.

"I never said they didn't. They have it, but it's magic just like the mages. Just a different kind. I hate this whole masquerade of 'oh I'm so lowly and meek, but god makes me strong'. 'Only the power of God can do these things'," he snarled the words in distain. "Idiocy is what pisses me off the most, amazon," he said simply.

"They just believe differently," I pointed out.

"And their _differently_ sends them on violent wars against every one else that doesn't believe the way they do. My kind keeps to themselves, amazon. The paladins are out there blatantly killing people," he hissed.

"Not Scorpious. He's part of a new order," I said in defense of my friend.

"He was still a zealot before and he's still sort of one now," Piricus snapped. "What happened to Radament?" he asked changing topics.

"I blew up my medallion and blasted everything around us to pieces," I admitted. "We found a strange blank book and a scroll. They took them to Deckard Cain," I explained.

"I see," he said with a grunt, refusing to let go of his shoulder.

"I can bring you some herbs or something like that to take the sting out," I offered.

"I don't need your help. In fact I'm sick of you. Get out," he snapped, the normal rudeness returning to his voice.

I got up to leave. "Piricus," I began.

"What?" he growled.

"When I got here there was a man in your room. I didn't get a good look at him, he was covered all over in black. I hit the side of his arm with one of my javelins, but he got away," I informed.

His face was unreadable. "I see," he said simply.

"That doesn't bother you?" I asked incredulously.

"If he was trying to kill me, there would have been traps or sorts in this room and he didn't attack you when you came in," he pointed out.

"I guess," I said uncertainly.

"I told you before, I can take care of myself. If I keep having to tell you to leave, we're going to see how well you _defend_ yourself. Keep your concern to yourself. I'm only going to tell you one more time. Get out," he said crisply and waved his hand.

I saw it again. That strange tattoo on his hand. The one that looked like a dagger with black fluid dripping off of it. I had seen it once before on the amazon isles.

"What's that on your hand?" I asked on my way out.

He flexed his wrist and clenched his hand. "Amazon you are seeing things. Nothing," he said showing it to me..

"That's weird," I mumbled before leaving.

I was on my way back to the square, maybe the others were there. I walked past many vendors calling out to me and around a corner. Oddly enough I heard grunts and growls. Several animals were chained in cages. Furs lined the stands of this vendor's space and he had several brightly colored birds in cages as well. I walked by them with unease. There were wolves, one black and one brown that paced the bars and eyed me hungrily. There were a pair of tigers in one and a male lion in another. They had some strange horses with stripes on them in addition to several regular horses and oxen. Three elephants were grazing lazily at some type of feed, though their tails kept twitching. All the animals seemed restless, but especially the one on the end. This one caught my eye and even though I was nowhere near it, I backed up some. It was an enormous, brown bear with some silver on its back. A grizzly. Tales of grizzly attacks often ended tragically. Next to demons, bears were the worse creatures there were. Well, maybe not the worst, but definitely the most dangerous. In many cultures, bringing down a grizzly was the ultimate challenge.

It watched the sea of people, including me, with powerful brown eyes. It would grunt or growl as people walked even five feet in front of it. I watched in horror as a curious little boy, no more than three, ran way from the crowd towards it.

"Look mommy! It looks just like my teddy!" he said excitedly.

The mother just stood there paralyzed in fear. He went for the cage and the vendor looked up just in time to see that. The bear roared and when he was in reach swung a massive, clawed hand through the bars. A blur came out of nowhere and tackled the child. I saw a bit of blood hit the ground, though not much. The bear had just grazed the person, though just grazing with a bear's speed, claws, and strength was the equivalent of a sword blow.

The vendor grabbed some type of stick, sparking with electricity and jammed it through the cage into the bear's side. The bear roared and writhed in the cage, thrashing out at everything. Another shock from the stick settled the creature down, but it continued to pant in rage.

When the debacle was over and the shapes came into focus, I couldn't have been more surprised. It was Maria. She had some slash marks on her back that were bleeding, but she seemed well enough to stand.

"Maria?" I asked in confusion.

She said nothing to me, she picked the child up and handed him back to his mother.

"Thank you, thank you," the woman said in tears.

Maria nodded, but said nothing. I came over to her side, shocked. "Where did you come from?" I asked, amazed.

"From visiting my friend," she said bluntly.

"Since when do assassins save people?" I asked curiously.

"I have my reasons for doing that. Don't ask me because I don't want to talk about it," she said quietly.

I looked her over. Her normal collected face was still in effect, but her eyes gave something away. She looked troubled about something in the extreme. And, there was something short of pain there too.

"How's Piricus?" she asked with a scowl.

"Awake and nasty as usual," I assured. I decided to omit the part about the stranger in his room.

"Those are nasty," I said, eyeing Maria's shredded shirt.

"Not nearly as bad as they could have been if that thing was outside of those bars," she admitted.

"Did you guys find out anything about the book or the scroll?" I asked curiously.

"Deckard Cain was looking over them when I left, we should head back now," Maria informed.

Glad to put that ordeal behind me I followed Maria back to the town square. The others were there, save Vendra and Piricus. I was beginning to worry about her. Just how sick could she be?

"Ah, Chyemme dear, and Maria, come sit, I have something important to tell all of you," he announced affably.

"Maria needs to see Fara first," I pointed out.

Cloudyous looked her over then got a serious look on his face. "Those came from a bear. What happened?" he asked gravely.

"She saved a child from one," I replied.

"Why would a bear be here in the desert?" Laurella asked curiously.

"Animal trader," Cloudyous said with a hiss.

"You can no set free. Cause big problem," Sovellis rebuked, reading his mind.

"I will respect the laws of this city, as much as I despise them," Cloudyous snarled.

"Explain to them, Elder Cain, I will be back shortly," Maria said politely and left for Fara's forge.

"Well," Cain began. "This book is a book of skill," he started.

"It's blank," Alminus stated obviously.

"It takes a certain word to fill the pages. And this book is magical. It will tell you anything about a skill you wish to know, blacksmithing, armor crafting, archery and so on. The book will be different with each person that reads it, depending on what is asked. The word is "Hajar" Horadrim for reveal. Now this," Cain said holding up the scroll "is very special. I thought it was lost ages ago. This is the scroll of the Horadrim. This is a very fortunate turn of events," he admitted.

"As the last living Horadrim, I alone have knowledge of its meaning. Now, to read the runes it bears," he said, scanning it over. "There we go. The Horadric mages, after binding Baal within Tal Rasha magically sealed off his burial chamber from the mortal realm. Those mages also crafted fearsome Horadric staves and imbued them with the special power to open the chamber's hidden door. After nearly losing one to the thievery of a rogue sorcerer, they divided all the Horadric Staves into two parts-wooden shaft and metal headpiece- hiding them separately to safeguard them. The Horadrim foresaw our current plight and designed the hiding places to reveal themselves to worth heroes like you. Collect both parts of a Horadric staff and unite them using a Horadric cube. Then, if we're lucky, you will be able to find and enter Tal Rasha's burial chamber. This is it my friends, this is what Diablo must be seeking in the desert. He seeks to free his brother, Baal, the Lord of Destruction," Cain said gravely.

"I'll rip him apart before he does!" Ryelass snarled.

"We have to find it first, that much is true," Scorpious admitted. "You said that the way would be revealed to worthy heroes? How?"

As if a divine answer, images started flooding into my head. I saw mountains of sand and endless desert, but under the sand, coming out of a hill, was the entrance to some type of dwelling. Images flashed through them of halls and columns and finally rested on a large chest somewhere there in.

"That was really strange," Laurella said quietly. "Chyemme, did you catch that too?" she asked sincerely.

"Yes," I admitted. "But I have no clue where it is."

"Tell us about it, maybe I know," Ryelass answered. I told him all that I saw and he considered to himself for a moment. That place sounds like the wastes in the desert, the Dry Hills. That makes sense because that's where the people here go to entomb their dead. The trouble is, I have no idea how to get there," he confessed.

"We should ask Griez for one of his mercenaries," Cloudyous replied. "They will be more familiar with the desert."

"We? Are you coming with us, Cloudyous?" I asked, eyeing his arm.

"No. I'm afraid I have to stay here. My arm is still broken, though it is healing very rapidly. Bibo here is still worse than me. She can't even flutter," he said regretfully, stroking the plumage on her chest with his good hand. She squawked ruefully.

"You'll be better soon ,"Laurella promised her.

"Well then, we should go. We should see Griez and hire a mercenary and stock up on supplies," Maria informed. "I have a feeling we're going to be in the desert for more than just a few days."

"That's probably true," Cain admitted.

"What about Piricus and Vendra?" I asked.

"I seem to get dragged into every monumental task of idiocy there is, so why not this one too?" Piricus scowled as he walked around the corner.

"How long have you been there?" I asked curiously.

"For the whole thing," he assured.

"Saves us tha trouble o' explainin'," Alminus grumbled.

"Sovellis what about Vendra?" I asked, worried.

"She sick," he admitted. "She no go."

"What, is she dying or something? I'll keep my fingers crossed," Piricus snapped.

"Silent!" Sovellis hissed. "She be better soon, but for this, no," he insisted.

"Can I at least go see her?" I asked.

"Me ask," he said simply. "I go and tell about scroll," he assured and left.

"Let me see that book then," Ryelass asked, taking it. "Hajar," he said as the pages filled with words. Ryelass studied them carefully. He nodded to himself.

"I think I've got it," he said at last and closed the book.

"What did you learn?" Laurella asked curiously.

"I'll show you. Stand back," he assured. "Except you, Piricus. Stay where you are," he laughed.

"The hell I will," he snapped "I think I know what you've done. You have no idea what you're about to mess with," he hissed.

"You'll be the first one to know if it worked or not," Ryelass laughed. He didn't reach for his sword and he didn't reach for the knife in his boots. He held out his hand to the side. I felt energy swirl there and jumped in surprise. A fireball went flying out of his hand and barreled towards Piricus. The necromancer snarled and tossed one of his own energy balls at it, causing an explosion when they hit.

People in the square started yelling in confusion before they began running away in fear.

Ryelass started laughing as everyone else started at him in shock. "Elder Cain did say it would teach you anything you want to know."

"You're not going to be laughing in a second," Piricus snarled and launched another ball of necromantic energy. Ryelass threw another fireball, though it was obviously becoming a little awkward for him. They hit and exploded again.

"He's right!" Maria hissed, grabbing Ryelass' arm. "Magic is dangerous especially when you have no clue about it like you do! Stand down or I'll cut you down. Magic is not a toy!"

"Take it easy," Ryelass said shrugging her off. "I'm done."

"I'm not," Piricus hissed and pulled back on his arm roughly to cast another spell. He went too far and stretched his shoulder. He winced and let out a loud breath, clutching it immediately. "When this is back to normal I'll play with magic and make your skeleton dance for me," he snarled angrily.

"Enough," Scorpious said stoutly. "What's done is done. You can't take it back. He has a new gift, that's all. Piricus, use this book to a better use," he said, tossing it to him.

Piricus scowled at him, but then took the book and said the word. He scanned it over, then blinked. He had a sly smile on his face when he closed it.

"What is it?" I asked interestedly.

"I'm not telling. Something no one will be laughing about when I use it. Here, amazon, make yourself semi-useful," he said bluntly and handed the book to me.

I thought about what I wanted to learn and said the words. Words and charts filled the pages. I scanned them carefully and focused my attention on javelin techniques. I read it and was fairly sure I understood. I could make one of my lightning javelins burst into three branches of lightning and hopefully have those branch off more than that.

I gave the book to Laurella and she looked it over. The book made its rounds. We handed it back to Cain, whom promised to let Vendra and Sovellis look at it later. Once that was settled it was nearing dark.

"Stock up on supplies as much as you can. Everyone will need to carry them," Maria said. All of us except Piricus made our way back to Ryelass' house. I hadn't really realized how tired I was until we got there. That, and my body had sweat and the smell of blood on my skin. I wrinkled my nose.

"Hey Yvette?" I asked Ryelass' mother. "Do you have a bathhouse here, or a river? Or should I go down to the beach?" I asked.

She nodded. "There is a bathhouse down by the water's edge. It should still be open. You should go," she informed.

"I will. I'm not going to leave these laying around while I bathe, so I'm leaving them here," I said, putting my weaponry and my shield down. I took most of my armor off, leaving on only the breastplate and the leggings. I left my boots on too, and headed for the door.

"I'm going too," Laurella said, hurrying to join me.

"Coming, Maria?" I asked her also.

"I'm fine the way I am. Just watch yourselves. Men are dogs and don't always stay on their side," she warned.

"I pity the man that would mess with Chyemme," Ryelass said with a smile.

"Thanks. Be back soon," I assured.

Myself and Laurella walked in silence. We had barely gotten out of the house when a familiar person came to greet us.

"Vendra, are you feeling better?" Laurella asked kindly.

She sighed. "Some, but I'm still sick," she said truthfully.

"What's wrong?" I asked gently.

"I don't want to talk about it," she admitted. "Sovellis told me about the scroll and everything. He told me that you're leaving tomorrow. I just wanted to see you all before you left. You know, and tell you to take care of the hardhead," she explained.

"We're headed to the bathhouse, do you want to join us?" Laurella asked.

"Sure. Why not. It might do me some good," she replied. "Tell me about Radament," she began as we started walking. We told her everything right down to the end and she snorted.

"I'm glad. That jackass had it coming. But Ryelass can use magic now? That's pretty dangerous to just jump into it with no training or experience," she admitted.

"That's what Maria said. You don't think he'll hurt himself, do you?" Laurella asked in worry.

"It's possible. When we get back I'm going to ask Sovellis if he can spend a little time while you're gone to teach Ryelass a few things on the way. Help stabilize him a bit," she assured.

"That would make me feel better," Laurella confessed as we walked up to the bathhouse. We all walked in and undressed behind the murals, before slipping into the water. It was warm, just like the night outside. There were some other women there, but they paid us no mind. I grabbed a bar of soap on the side of the bath and scrubbed my arms vigorously in the hopes of getting rid of the smell. I was just starting to relax when I heard screaming and loud noises outside. It sounded like a braying noise. Without warning something large smashed into the bathhouse and broke through the walls. It was one of the elephants I had seen earlier. The beast was in a panic and thundered towards us. Vendra grabbed Laurella and I grabbed another woman next to me, yanking them out of the tub just as the elephant smashed into it. The water was about ankle deep for the pachyderm so it paid it no mind. It thrashed its head wildly and broke through wood and brick with its enormous tusks. Debris went flying everywhere as the whole building came down. We had no time to grab our clothes or our armor, we just jumped away from the disaster naked.

The woman in my arms didn't have any rational sense left she pulled away from me and ran down the street. Without fail another animal, one of the ones with stripes raced by. Vendra flung Laurella away from her as the beast went flying by both of them. Throngs of people came running down the streets, separating Laurella from us. Everybody was in such a panic that they didn't seem to care about our lack of covering. They just shoved us every direction.

Soon I could see why they were running. The pair of tigers were running down the streets pouncing on people and ripping into them. The town mercenaries were on the scene in a flash. They managed to kill a tiger before the other one turned from its bloody meal to them. Armor or no, the tiger ripped into two of them before they had a chance to fight back.

"We need to leave," Vendra squeaked in terror. I had no idea what was making her so afraid.

I followed her and we ducked into a side alley just in time for the lion to go streaking by. Guards were chasing it, striking at whatever they could reach.

Vendra gasped as we turned around. The two wolves from earlier were there, their mouths dripping with blood. I steadied myself. This was very bad. I had nothing but my hands and feet against teeth and claws. They crouched and sprung, but out of nowhere a blur of silver went flying by. I could make out a mass of fur colliding with the two wolves in a mass of teeth. It was Belthem.

"Come on!" I insisted and grabbed Vendra's arm, pulling her down another side alley. We ran until we were on a deserted street. It didn't stay that way. A crowd of people came into view at the end. Most of them were flying through the air. Something big and brown came after them. The bear. I watched in horror as the bear smashed a monstrous paw into the stomach off one man, cutting him open, armor and all. Another stabbed at the bear, but the bear grabbed the weapon in its teeth and broke it before pouncing on top of that one too. He was dead within a second. The last man charged the bear. The bear swatted him away with a paw and as he landed, ripped out his throat.

"Stay still," I said quietly. "It hasn't seen us."

The bear sniffed, then turned around. It roared at us, showing all its teeth. It lumbered forward at an alarming rate.

"Vendra!" I shouted urgently. "Blast him!"

She stood there shaking.

"VENDRA!" I yelled again, more desperate.

"I can't," she said quietly.

"Why? It's going to kill us?" I breathed

"I can't, Chyemme. I've lost my magic. I lost it after the fight with Andariel," she said gravely, quaking down to her toes.

"Sick? Now I get it," I said quietly. "When you transformed to pure magic, this is the consequence. Zerae help us," I breathed and stepped in front of my friend. It wasn't going to do anything. If I had been Alminus maybe, but I wasn't anywhere near as strong as an enraged bear.

Something raced in front of us. It was Cloudyous. He locked eyes with the bear, and held out his good hand. He put two of his fingers together and held them up, then brought them down slowly.

The bear turned its head sideways to look at him. It grunted, then laid down on the ground harmlessly.

"Are you alright?" he asked us without turning around.

"Other than being naked we're fine," I said a little shakily. "Belthem!" I exclaimed as the injured wolf came limping around the corner. "WATCH OUT!" I yelled in panic as the two wolves came up behind him.

I watched in terror, but the terror soon died away. They were walking beside him peacefully, though they had some injuries of their own.

"What's going on?" Vendra asked timidly.

"She got loose," Cloudyous said gesturing to the bear. "And she startled the elephants which trampled the other cages, setting all of them free."

"Where are the rest of them?" I asked uneasily.

"They're rounding up the zebras, horses, and oxen. The animal trader is helping calm the elephants. The mercenaries killed the lion and the tigers, though they suffered some losses of their own," he explained.

"There they are!" came several angered voices as mercenaries rushed into the streets along with the animal trader. They looked at me and Vendra skeptically, but we were not the main problem.

"Kill them!" one of the mercenaries snarled.

"Those are still my property!" the trader exclaimed angrily.

"They've killed people. Now they're ours!" one of the men in armor snapped.

"Everyone calm down," Cloudyous said gently. "I will take these animals. I will buy them from you. And I will pay for the damage they have done."

"You'd have to rich, fellow," the mercenary snapped.

"I am," Cloudyous said truthfully. "I came into some money on one of my last excursions," he said referencing to the Countess.

"Money can't bring back lives," another snarled.

"Taking theirs would be a crime too," Cloudyous insisted.

"Griez," one called as the lead mercenary came over. "What do you think?"

"How are you going to keep them under control, buddy?" he growled.

"I have my ways. You see, I travel with Belthem here and he has harmed none," he assured.

"If you can pay them, and for the mercenaries these three beasts killed, then I'll let them live," he grunted.

"I'll have the money to you by morning," Cloudyous assured.

"Fine. Move out men, start cleaning up this mess. Don't stare at them, dogs," Griez hissed as the men looked us over.

"I need to go back and get my armor," I said awkwardly.

"I've got it. Yours too Vendra," Ryelass said from behind us. He downcast his eyes immediately and turned his head away as he handed them back to us.

"This was fun," Vendra snarled when she was dressed.

"Did you talk to them, Cloudyous?" I asked, eyeing the enormous bear and wolves.

"That was the only way to end this in their favor," he admitted.

"What did they say?" I asked.

"They were mad and frightened. I calmed them down. These," he said gesturing to the wolves, "Are Sky and Midnight. Belthem it seems has formed a bond with them. And by beating them, he's become the alpha male. They'll travel with him as a pack from now on. And she," he said pointing at the placid grizzly, "Is Gaia. They took her cub from her not a week ago. That is what has made her so angry," he explained.

"Well, what now?" I asked, eyeing the entourage of animals.

"Belthem has spoken to them and Sky and Midnight have agreed to accompany you all on your journey tomorrow. Gaia here is still a little unstable, so I will keep her with me until she calms down. Me and Bibo should be able to help her and when she is in her right mind, we will give her the option of staying with us or leaving when we can take her to a more suitable home in the wild. The desert is no place for wolves or a bear," he finished.

"I'm going back to Drognan's I about as useful as a piece of wet parchment," Vendra said sourly and left.

"What's wrong with her?" Cloudyous asked gently.

"It's not my place to say. Let's just go back so Ryelass' mother knows everyone is still alright."


	6. Chapter 6

-1Into the Desert

Piricus

There had been something going on outside. People had been causing a commotion when I was trying to rest. I had taken a look outside, and seen a tiger running down the streets. Cowards. There were only a hundred of them and one beast. They could have taken it down if they worked together, though admittedly they would have lost some. But, what can I say? People are sheep. They bleat when they're scared and they run away instead of fighting when fighting is the best way to survive. Senseless. But that didn't matter to me. I didn't care whether a bunch of people I didn't know lived or died. It wasn't my concern. That said, I had just stayed in my room and let the calamity play itself out. We were heading out tomorrow into the sands on yet another excursion. I just couldn't spend a whole day without something epic happening to me. Lord Rathma had told me this journey was going to be rough, but this was stupid. Luckily for me, once the ports were back open and I made my trades I was going home and wouldn't be concerned one way or the other about this little brigade I had somehow been cursed with. I felt myself scowl, then a grin crossed my face. With any luck, the beasts had eaten the paladin as undoubtedly he had thrown himself in front of someone else. What an idiot. No sense of self preservation in the slightest. That didn't make him brave to me, it made him a moron.

I heard the slightest sound of movement in my window. The amazon had told me someone had been in here earlier. I had a suspicion. I called out his name.

"Darius, a drunkard could hear you coming from a mile away. I'm surprised the assassins haven't pegged you yet."

I heard a laugh.

"Im mortus vitra, Prince Darkblade," he said as I turned around.. Darius hadn't changed much since I saw him last. He was still tall and thin and had the same taut face with his plain eyes. That was one thing about Darius. He looked so average he could pass for native anywhere.

"She got you good," I said with a smirk, eyeing his arm with a long slice on the side.

"Quick as a cat, that woman. There was something special about her. She seemed to know I was here," he admitted. "You know how to pick them, Prince. I'll bet she's a fiery lover."

I snorted. "I wouldn't know. She's not my mate. But I cannot deny she has some special gifts. A strange woman she is," I answered.

"A looker though," he said with a laugh.

"Darius I doubt you're here to goad me. What news are you bringing me?" I asked, cutting to the point.

"Lord Rathma sent me here to check on you," he answered.

I growled. "I don't need a babysitter. I'm doing what he told me to do, it's just taking a Trag 'Oul damned long time because shit keeps happening to me wherever I go. I got stranded with a group of insolent fools and they manage to get sidetracked like nothing else."

"Sounds frustrating," Darius laughed.

"Be quiet moron, or I'll remind you why you all call me the Emerald Prince. So what now? He wants you to come with me? Is that what this is about?" I hissed.

"Not exactly, Prince. He sent me to keep an eye on the assassin friend of yours. I've been keeping tabs on her as best I can without her realizing I'm there. It's extremely difficult, she's very good. Someone has taught her well. I know enough to tell you that when she keeps disappearing, she's rallying with more assassins. They're not as good as she is. I've had better luck with them," he explained.

"Then what have you learned?" I asked impatiently.

"They're on to you. That woman is watching you like a hawk," he informed.

"I've been careful. She has no reason to suspect me as much as anyone else," I pointed out. "In fact, I've been holding back."

"I know that, but I think she does too. If she sees how powerful you are, she will know for sure," he warned. "You being Lord Rathma's pet has kind of set you apart from the rest of us. It must be a constant struggle for you."

"To be honest, sometimes you're right. There are moments when I feel the need to lash out with everything I have. I had a hand in killing the Demon Queen. I thought I was going to lose it then," I admitted.

"I heard. That's quite an accomplishment, Prince. Lord Rathma was right to make you Captain and send you on this assignment," Darius said with respect.

"Don't waste my time with flattery, fool. What do you want here? You've seen me, I'm still breathing. You can go back and tell Lord Rathma that I'm not dead," I said sourly.

"The ports are closed Prince, I couldn't go anywhere if I wanted to," he reminded.

"Then what the hell are you doing here?" I growled.

"I'm here to throw the assassins off your trail," he explained.

"And how do you intend to do that?" I asked, irritated.

"I'll pretend to be you. I'll make your trades and interact with people just enough to make the lesser assassins suspicious. What would make it even more viable is for them to catch you meeting with me. Pretend that I am your superior," he offered.

"Sounds like a good start," I said, considering to myself.

"Then let's do that right now, they don't know that I'm here, but it won't be hard for them to find us with our energy. They take shifts watching you, they're changing guard right now. I will see you in the alley in a few moments, Prince," he said and disappeared out the window once more.

I pulled on my robes and armor and stepped out into the early morning. The sun was still down. A perfect part to this plan. I walked outside, putting on a show of extreme concern. I looked all around myself, checking the shadows in an exaggerated fashion before walking into the alley. Darius was already there, waiting for me. He nodded briefly, but gave no other sign. I knew what he was trying to say. I could feel their eyes on us. The assassin was trying to be shifty. She had sent people to watch me just like he said.

I hailed him with our greeting, Im mortus vitra. In death, life. I bowed to him, kneeling on the ground.

"Prince Darkblade," I lied.

"Rise, Piricus," he said silently. "Is it done?" he asked cryptically, referencing to nothing in particular.

"Yes," I said, improving just like him.

"Good. Then I leave with the next ship. Hurry and leave me before they catch on," he said simply.

I made sure to look around myself, more subtle this time, acting natural. "As you wish, Prince," I said and saluted him, walking away quickly back to my room. I wasn't psychic like the amazon, but it didn't take a genius to realize they were going straight back to their headquarters. This alone wouldn't be enough proof if whoever their ringleader was had half a wit like the assassin, but coupled with Darius' attempt to fly under their detection it would definitely take some of the suspicion off me.

Nothing big and flashy, I laughed to myself. I would have to avoid raising an army of skeletons, but most importantly, control which poisons I conjured. That's how I got my name, the Emerald Prince.

I walked back in and settled down, settling for what little sleep I could get. I was up even before the amazon knocked on my door. I grabbed everything I would need and walked into the hall beside her without a word. She however, was full of babble.

"Did you notice what went on last night, or were you out cold?" she asked skeptically.

"I hurt like hell, amazon so of course I was awake," I pointed out rudely.

"An animal trader's beasts got loose. They killed a bunch of people," she informed.

"People die every day, amazon. What do I care?" I said plainly.

"You would have cared if it were you," she retorted.

"That's true. But, an animal is no match for me," I replied truthfully.

"The one we encountered would have been," she said bluntly.

"Oh, so you were one of those idiots down there in that mess? I told you we're square. I'm not saving your ass again," I told her.

"No need," she said, rolling her eyes.

"So what was it that attacked you? You make it sound like an enraged bear," I said with a snort.

She laughed. "You said it. It was a bear. A grizzly. That and two wolves."

"All at once?" I said, rolling my eyes.

"No, thank Zerae," she sighed.

"How the hell are you still alive amazon?" I said bluntly.

She cringed. "Well, we had a bit of help. I was kind of naked and couldn't do much."

I raised an eyebrow. "Why the hell would you have been naked? Did your mind finally disintegrate? Or have you been taking idiocy lessons from the paladin?"

"Well I was in the bathhouse with Laurella and Vendra and an elephant kind of tore the place down. I didn't have time to get my armor. Then some Zebras ran through and we got separated from Laurella. We got pushed into a side alley, where there were some wolves. Belthem saved us, but we ran down another alley and came face to face with the bear. It killed three people like nothing right in front of us," she explained.

"Why the hell didn't the sorceress just toast the thing? Is she really that much of a coward?" I scoffed.

"She couldn't. Some people were in the way," she answered.

"I would have blasted them if it meant I wasn't going to get eaten," I remarked logistically.

"Well, she's not like you. Cloudyous saved us from the bear. He calmed her down. Belthem beat the wolves so they follow him around now. Cloudyous bought all three of them with his share of the countess' fortune," she informed.

"More beasts?" I snorted.

"Yes. The two wolves are going with Belthem along with us while the bear stays here with Cloudyous," she answered.

"The last thing I want is to smell like sweaty mutts. One is bad enough," I said sarcastically.

"We need all the help we can. Vendra's still sick, so she's not coming and Cloudyous is still injured so he's not going either," she pointed out.

"That woman is still sick? Is she dying? It seems like she's the kind of bitch that wouldn't lay down for anything," I growled.

"I'm not allowed to say, but no, she's not dying. We'll just say she is having some personal problems," she said.

"Everyone has problems, we deal with them, but that woman is unusually bitchy. That doesn't surprise me. But, whatever, if she dies I won't miss her so it doesn't really matter to me," I admitted.

"You are the perfect model of compassion, Piricus," she said sarcastically.

"Compassion gets you killed," I retorted.

"You have to have compassion for something, otherwise you wouldn't be human," the amazon said interestedly.

"Yes I have the biggest love for myself, that's the only thing that counts," I remarked simply.

"Of course," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Quit talking, amazon or we'll take forever to get there. You may not have noticed, but you slowed down considerably," I pointed out in irritation.

"I was walking beside you. You're probably still hurting so I won't hold it against you. Then again, you're back to your normal self, blaming me instead of yourself," she retorted.

"I'll call it as I see it," I replied.

"Well then if you're in such a rush let's hurry up then," she encouraged as we picked up the pace.

We snaked our way through town, the amazon must have been at least partially familiar with the place, she seemed to have an idea of the general direction we should go. We past all manner of people, milling about. They paid us no mind as we came up to what appeared to be a main street. I looked around and up ahead I could see the others. I locked eyes with the paladin briefly and scowled. Like the amazon had informed me the druid and the sorceress weren't present. I watched as the mercenary leader walked around a corner with a tall man that shared the same complexion as the paladin, a strong, but light brown. He was dressed much like the mercenary leader, light chainmail over thin wrappings and a turban on his head. He had a well-trimmed black beard that hugged his chin.

"That must be the mercenary Maria hired," the amazon observed.

"Obviously," I said bluntly.

"You're just in time," the paladin greeted us.

"I'm always on time, paladin. Mine," I informed him rudely.

"So be it. You're here and that's what matters," he countered, staying calm as usual.

"Who's this?" the amazon asked as the two desert men came over.

"You're all here. Good, I'll be brief. This is Ahmad, one of the best I have. He knows the desert probably better than anyone else," he informed us. "Ahmad," he said, turning to his mercenary, "Show them that we are the toughest bastards in the desert," he said with pride.

"What if he dies?" the rogue asked uneasily.

"Well, aren't you full of faith, rogue? Help her paladin, her confidence is failing," I said sarcastically.

"Essentially, we bought his life. He will live or die doing the job we paid him for," the assassin assured.

The mercenary nodded. "This much is true."

"Well then, let's go," I said impatiently. I blinked as I felt eyes on me. I turned around. The druid's grey mutt stopped to look at me with wild, golden eyes. Behind that mutt were two more. One brown and one black. I scowled.

"How do we know those mutts won't turn on us?" I growled.

The grey one flipped his head before rubbing up against the amazon's legs. She patted his head.

"I'm sure Cloudyous has spoken to them. They're as much our allies as he is," she assured.

The other two wolves watched the grey one and came up to sniff the amazon. She didn't appear to be afraid in the slightest, though she didn't touch them like she did to the grey one.

"They seem to be ready," the amazon said, watching them.

Our mercenary eyed them uneasily. "Wolves are your allies?"

"Our friend Cloudyous is a druid," the rogue explained. "They are his friends."

"They not hurt you," the sorcerer promised.

"Yeah, they're good fighters ter. Be glad ter have 'em on yur side," the barbarian added.

"I don't like it," the mercenary admitted. "I've had far too many experiences with animals that didn't end well."

"I don't like them either," I admitted. "But it's not in your job description to question us. If you are afraid the assassin should get her money back and find someone more suitable. I'll tell it to you straight. If you're a coward you are going to get killed when you go out with us," I said plainly.

"I fear no creature, I'm simply leery, that's all. It seems strange that your druid friend is not with you to command them. Soldiers without a leader are dangerous," the mercenary replied.

"Belthem is exceptional. He and Cloudyous are practically one. Belthem will do whatever he tells him to. And these other two will do what Belthem says. Cloudyous told Belthem to help us. I trust Belthem. He's fought beside us since the day we first met him. He came along with us to kill Radament without Cloudyous there. He didn't do anything but help us," the amazon explained.

"I see," the mercenary said.

"Get a move on, Ahmad. Don't make your clients wait," the mercenary leader said to him.

"Yes sir," he said and saluted. "This way," he said, pointing off to the side of us. The mercenary lead us expertly through the town. The further along we went, the more and more the people thinned out. We were soon at a small gate, with only two mercenaries guarding it.

"Where is everybody?" the rogue asked, eyeing the gate.

"The townspeople don't come here," the mercenary explained. "They believe the canyon beyond this place is haunted."

"Haunted by what?" the amazon asked.

"Not so much spirits as the creatures that have been showing up in the desert," he continued.

"What kind of creatures?" the warrior asked curiously.

"The bad kind that eat little men like you," I snorted.

"Shut up Piricus. I was being serious," he hissed.

"So was I," I retorted with a laugh.

"Cut it out," the assassin reprimanded. "I don't want to listen to this quarrel anymore. Especially when we haven't even left town yet."

"He started it, as usual," the warrior growled.

"She's righ', buddy. Leave 'im alone. He ain't worth yur time," the barbarian agreed.

"I'm sensing some tension here," the mercenary said, eyeing us over his shoulder.

"Yeah, he's an asshole. No one likes him," the warrior said with a scowl.

"Chyemme does," the barbarian laughed.

She laughed. "I seem to be drawn to the strangest people. You all included."

"Strange polite way of putting it," the sorcerer laughed.

"So, tell us about where we're going, Ahmad. How will we get there?" the paladin asked sincerely.

"According to your friend here," he said, gesturing to the assassin, "You've asked me to help you find the Halls of the Dead. That's in the dry hills. The trip there is simple. We go through this canyon into the Rocky Wastes. There's a pass there that will take us into the Dry Hills. I know the place you have requested. The people of Lut Gholein entomb their dead there. I myself have had to bury a few of my friends. But, be not troubled. The way is quick and easy."

"Nothing with us is ever quick and easy," the warrior admitted truthfully.

"Ya were jus' tellin' us there wers monsters appearin' in tha hills," the barbarian began. "What have ya seen, Ahmad?"

"Not things that are pleasant. I don't know how to describe some of them. They are creatures like I have never seen before. I take that back. Creatures is not the right word. They must be demons. Strange, all this trouble just seemed to come out of nowhere. Anyway, the demons only seem to roam around at night. What we really should be concerned about are Spear Cats," he answered.

"What are those?" the rogue asked.

"Spear cats are humanoid creatures. They look like a cross between a human and a cat, usually a lion or a leopard. They are very intelligent, some of them, usually their traders, speak common tongue. They have been known to sometimes trade with humans, though they're kind of aloof. I've never heard of them actually attacking people, they're supposed to be peaceful," the assassin enlightened us.

"Supposed to. Nothing ever is for us," I said truthfully and sarcastically.

"What's been happening?" the paladin asked.

"Several whole caravans have gone missing, seemingly out of nowhere. We can find no tracks, though in the desert wind sand would have covered them quickly. But, a hungry animal would have no need for supplies and wagons, and would have left them. It couldn't have been a sandstorm either, we found nothing, only wagon tracks, which would have been blown away by the storm. That, and whatever it was seemed to pick the right time and place to attack. They seem to know when caravans are just leaving and they disappear almost immediately when they are out of sight of the city. What I'm trying to say here is that this isn't a force of nature. This is a well collaborated, well organized raid. No one in Lut Gholein can simply make things disappear save maybe Drognan the Elder, but he bears the people of the city only benign intentions," the mercenary admitted.

"Spear cats are supposed to be native to the eastern jungles," I said, calling upon my own knowledge. "How in the name of Trag 'Oul did they get out here?"

"That's just the thing, no one knows," the mercenary continued.

"How do you know they are actually here?" the amazon asked.

"There have been sightings. Well, one sighting. One of my friends was out on patrol in the desert, he saw them just briefly enough to know what they were. He left immediately, ensuring they didn't detect his presence and told the rest of us. Greiz doubled the guard after that and made sure to get word out that if you valued your life you'd stay within city walls at night," he replied.

"It wersn't safe even in tha city," the barbarain pointed out. "Radament was kinda causin' a real mess."

"That is true. But in our defense, we managed to corner it into the sewers instead of letting it roam the streets at night like it had been. I am told that your group dispatched him. For this, I thank you," the mercenary explained.

"Come, let us leave here," the mercenary said with confidence and lead us away from the city. The sun was blistering and the heat reverberated from the rocks. I was sweating before I knew it. I looked at the paladin in his plate. I would have thought he'd be baking alive in that, but he seemed to be doing just fine.

"It's hot," the rogue observed, wiping her brow. "Scorpious aren't you burning up?"

The paladin shook his head. "No. I have learned to endure all types of things, elements and otherwise. But, I can see that the rest of you are suffering. I will say a special prayer for us. If God is merciful as indeed he is, surely he will hear me out," he promised.

"What are you going to do, paladin? Make it snow?" I growled.

"Hardly. I have no way with nature like Cloudyous does. But, this should help us some," he assured and said something in paladin language gently.

In a blink, it was like the heat was hitting me and bouncing off, or at least running down my body into the ground instead of sticking onto it.

"What did you do, Scorpious?" the assassin asked curiously.

"I have a prayer that gives me a special energy pattern. I channel my faith around my body like a shield and the heat is one of the things it repels. I asked God to help me share this gift with all of you. As I said, I knew he would listen," he said brightly.

"You are doing this paladin. That's the only reason your little "prayers" always work, every time," I argued, stating the obvious.

"Ah, but I'm human, Piricus. How could I be spot on all the time without some kind of help?" he countered.

"Because you're using magic, paladin. No different than the mages, I've said this a thousand times. Your prayers are spells, fueled by your own energy. Their magic never fails them, neither does yours," I protested.

The amazon got a weird look on her face, then she and the sorcerer looked at each other discreetly.

"Well that struck a chord. Want to let the rest of us in on that secret of yours?" I asked them snidely.

"Not really," the amazon said truthfully.

"It's about Vendra, isn't it?" the rogue asked.

"Of course it is," the assassin said, reading them expertly.

"You should tell them, Sovellis," the amazon said gently.

He sighed. "She no longer problem to you," he said, directed at the assassin.

"What are you talking about?" she asked him in return.

"Vendra can no use magic," he admitted quietly.

The assassin got a knowing look on her face. "I told her there would be consequences to her action back at the monastery, this doesn't surprise me."

"Hey Sovellis, aren't you two connected now? If she lost her magic then why do you still have yours?" the amazon asked.

"I no know. I speak to Elder Drognan and he not know either. He say maybe it because I not one who transform," he said, shrugging.

"Are you two still connected?" the rogue asked curiously.

"Yes. I hear her now," he said, tapping his head.

"What's she saying?" she continued.

"She mad at me for telling you," he answered.

I laughed loudly. "That's got to be a pain in the ass. Having a whining bitch in your mind that you can't get rid of. You'll be insane in no time."

"She say and me agree, shut up jackass," he said with an irritated tone to his normally calm voice.

"Make me, sorceress. Oh that's right, you've got nothing," I jeered at her through her companion's ears.

A scowl crossed the sorcerer's face, no doubt a duplication of his irritating soul companion.

The mercenary had been listening to this with an odd look. "You really weren't kidding when you said you were a strange group of people."

He didn't have time to elaborate. I felt the air whiz by and I ducked, just in time for a mass of black and red feathers to go streaking past. The mass was huge, the size of one of the mutts behind us. The creature flew past me, wavering slightly before changing course and closing a short space after the amazon. She must have felt the thing with that strange gift of hers. She leaned over, using the shield on her back like a turtle's shell. The thing hit it with such force that it fell backwards onto the ground dazed.

When it was stumbling around I saw that it was an enormous vulture, though it was obviously not natural. The feet had black veins popping out of them and red streaks glowing on their talons and on their beaks. The eyes were bright, bright red and solid, no pupils or irises. And on its back it had a long, snake-like tail that was scaled and crusted. The feathers had no natural luster like the druid's bird, they were dull and looked diseased.

The amazon didn't waste any time to assess the creature, she drew the crystal sword at her waist and decapitated it. Before we knew it, we were under attack by a flock of them. Apparently our dimwit mercenary had walked us right through their nesting grounds on the canyon walls.

I swerved to the side and let another vulture go streaking past. I followed it with my eyes and timed my attack. I let loose a teeth spell that hit directly, burning a gaping hole through the thing's middle. Blood and feathers rained from the sky as the creature fell. I saw three more diving in at me. Without another thought, I pulled the bones from the dead creature's body and conjured them together in front of me into a bone shield. I heard loud thuds and felt the force as the supernatural creatures slammed into it repeatedly. I sure as hell wasn't going around my shield into that mass of talons, but I conjured a golem up from the sand that would. The mass of earth lumbered around the shield on my command and began to battle my aggressors.

Yet another bird flew over my head, but this one landed on me lifeless. The rogue had shot it dead mid-flight. I watched her as she fired shot after shot into the multitude of birds. It didn't matter how many she killed, more kept coming to take their place. She was losing the battle to stand her own ground. The creatures were then too close for her bow to be of any use. I think the amazon had been taking self-destructive lessons from the paladin, because just like he would, she jumped in front of the rogue, throwing her shield up in front of them. That only did so much good, she was having to spin around in a circle to keep all the buzzards off them.

The assassin helped them. She came vaulting over, twirling her katars and slashing into birds on every side. But, despite her better attempts, one of the vultures grabbed a katar in its beak and yanked it from her grasp. One of the birds flew into the exposed arm and grabbed into it with its talons, tearing into her flesh. She hissed, but didn't cry out. She looked directly at the bird with extreme focus and it was blasted with something unseen off of her. The smell of her blood as it dripped down her arm drove the flock of terrors into a frenzy. They attacked with renewed vigor.

I saw my golem grapple with a buzzard and tear its wings off. It stomped on it and killed it, but three more worked together slamming into it. I conjured more energy barbs and tried to help my golem out, but by the time I had gotten to it, it had already lost an arm. I only had time to blink before a mass of feathers flew at my face over my shield. I reached out in self defense and managed with extreme luck to grab the thing around the skinny neck. It raked out with its talons though, and bit into my already injured arm. Like the assassin, I didn't cry out, but unlike her, I had no psychic powers to blast it with. Instead, I settled for my own talent. I channeled my energy into my hands and began to rot the flesh of the creature until I was able to yank its head off. My blood was leaking down my arm in trails and I grabbed it, trying to put pressure and halt the bleeding. But, also like the assassin, this made me a prime target.

A vulture flew at me from the side and I conjured a spell that missed. I cursed, I didn't have time or room to put me at an advantage. I was thoroughly surprised when a black blur flew through the air and tackled the creature from the sky. I saw one of the druid's new mutts, the black one, rip into it savagely, tearing flesh from bone and becoming seemingly more feral every second.

I saw the assassin go flying through the air as a bird whipped her with its tail. She landed hard against the canyon wall. But, like lightning the paladin was there. He pulled her behind his own shield. When I looked next, the warrior had taken to using his shield as well and dealing blows as best he could behind it. But, like the amazon, he was constantly having to reposition his shield to keep them off of him. The sorcerer had acted as philanthropist this time, he had pulled the barbarian and our mercenary behind a glimmering blue mana shield. That shield seemed to be taking all of his concentration with as many things that kept hitting it.

Occasionally the mercenary and the barbarian would lash out beyond the shield, dealing only glancing blows at best. I counted as best I could. There were at least twenty of them, not including the ones we had already killed. That was something else unusual about this. I wasn't a druid, but I didn't think vultures traveled in groups that big. Maybe, we were in their nesting grounds. You would think the mercenary would have known that though, if he supposedly knew the desert better than anyone else. What a joke.

"Scorpious!" the sorcerer yelled loudly above the screeching. "Make us shield. I zap!" he planned.

The paladin nodded. I saw him mouth something, then rippling rings of light permeated off our bodies. I felt a tingle, like I did every time he used his strange magic. There were no clouds and the sky was bright, but I felt the air electrify. Lightning from no particular source started raining down from the sky. Bolt after bolt hit the mass of birds, killing them on contact. Occasionally, a bolt would strike one of us, but with the paladin's aura, it hit the light around us and went harmlessly into the ground. Blood, guts, and feathers showered us as the creatures died. We waited until moments later, when the last of the buzzards fell limp to the ground.

"Wha' tha hell wers that 'bout?" the barbarian growled, looking around himself.

"Did we disturb a nest?" the rogue asked, as she eyed the canyon top.

"There was no nest here. The vultures never come this close to the city. They stay way out in the desert where they feed on the dead or the dying. At least, that's what normal vultures do. I have never seen beasts such as these," the mercenary offered, brushing the feathers off his armor.

"You were of real help there, merc," I said sarcastically.

"I am not a magic user," he protested in his defense.

"That's obvious," I said simply.

"Shut up Piricus, I don't want you driving our guide away," the warrior growled.

"If he can't take that, then he's likely going to die in the next five minutes anyway," I protested.

"You're making a fool out of me," the mercenary hissed.

"All of you are fools. All of you except me," I retorted with a laugh.

"Ignore 'im Ahmad. E' likes ter get on everybody's nerves. Jus' means yur part o' tha group now," the barbarain offered.

The mercenary straightened and collected himself. "No matter what you say to me, you hired me to do a job. Words will not distract me from that task."

"There ya go. Good man," the barbarian laughed.

"Now that that's over with, let us move on. Lead the way, Ahmad," the paladin said, plucking a feather out from under his shoulder armor.

"Very well. This canyon ends just a short ways away. Then we enter the vast wastes of the desert," our mercenary reiterated as we started forward.

We walked for a long time, and nothing else happened. We saw nothing but rocks and sand. How appropriate that this place was called the Rocky Wastes. The only thing alive besides us seemed to be a sweltering wind that was as nagging as the sorceress' incessant whining when you were around her.

We had long since left the city, and as always I remained alert. It didn't take me long to pick up on the strange feeling my subconscious was giving me. Something wasn't right. And that sense had kept me alive before when nothing else would. I continued to walk with the others and as time went by, I definitely had a sneaking suspicion that something was stalking us. But, I scanned the desert and found nothing but rocks and sand. Another blistering breeze wafted over us and I could smell our scent without being one of the druid's mutts. We smelled of heat and sweat, a pungent combination. It wasn't a wonder that we were being followed. Any predator in the desert could have picked up on that.

"Stop. Just stop," the warrior said suddenly.

"What's wrong, Ryelass?" the rogue asked in worry.

"Rogue, you honestly can't feel that? The warrior has no special talent and he can," I said plainly.

"Feel wha'?" the barbarian asked, sharing her confusion,

"We're being followed," the assassin answered for me.

"Followed by what?" the rogue furthered. "I've got a tingle in my spine, but I can't see anything."

The amazon nodded. "I know something's there too, but I can't tack it down. It's not just you," she assured the rogue.

"What the hell is that stealthy? Maria?" the warrior asked.

"The same desert ghosts that have been attacking the caravans," our mercenary said uneasily.

"If sit, we find out," the sorcerer said stating the obvious.

"Keep moving," the paladin advised. "He's right, don't sit still or they'll attack us," he admitted.

"They'll attack us anyway," I countered. "But we know they're there. We should draw them out now while we're expecting it," I shot back.

"Maria what do you think?" the rogue asked.

"He has a point. It's a good idea. We set a trap for them before they do for us," she replied.

"How should we go about this then?" the amazon asked.

"Keep walking and be on your guard. We'll wait until nightfall if we can, then pretend to rest. Like any predator, you wait for prey to be defenseless at the right moment before attacking. My guess is that we'll be too tempting to pass up. Another thing," she explained. "I think I know why no one can find a trace of whatever this is. A magnetic field. It pulls the heat up around them and hides them behind a mirage. Heat reflects. That's why all you'd see is just the shimmering heat and not what's behind it."

"You can fix that, can't you?" the rogue asked.

"Yes. An electrical charge would throw the illusion off. I want us to pick up the pace so we'll be far enough ahead I can set up traps around our location tonight and not be noticed," she continued.

"But if we run they'll know we've caught on," the amazon pointed out.

"I know what would really help us, but he's not here," the assassin growled.

"One of Cloudyous' wind storms?" the amazon answered.

"Yes," she sighed. "A sandstorm is a natural occurrence here. They'd have no reason to think anything of it. What we need is a naturally-occurring phenomenon, and I have no idea what to do," she admitted.

"Why not do what they do, assassin? Use heat as a mirage?" I said, bored.

"That could work. We have Sovellis and he can conjure fire," the amazon added.

"Me too," the warrior chimed in. "Remember I can cast a fire spell now."

"You have no clue what you're doing," the assassin hissed.

"No. But I tell what to do. I teach," the sorcerer offered.

"I don't like it," the assassin said bluntly. "Jumping straight into magic is dangerous. It will be just as easy for him to blast us apart as soon as help us. He hasn't got a clue."

"No, but Sovellis does. It might be hard for you, Maria, but he's given us no reason not to trust him. I have faith that things will go well," the paladin consoled.

"When do you not have faith, paladin?" I asked sarcastically.

"Well if you put it that way, never," he said with a good-natured laugh.

"You make me sick," I hissed.

"That's one sided," the paladin said with an irritating smile. That man always managed to get on my nerves without trying.

"I'm ready. Let's show these invisible assholes that we can play their game too," the warrior said eagerly.

"Come. Stand by me," the sorcerer instructed and the warrior did. "Now hold out arm in front," he continued and the warrior did as he was told. The sorcerer raised his own arm and placed it directly beside the warrior's, touching the side of it. "You already know from book. Feel for energy. Focus on me."

"I feel you. Wow. You're really strong," the warrior said with surprise. He jumped and I felt an unseen magical energy wrap around his arm, tying him to the sorcerer.

"What did you do?" he said with a blink.

"I bind together but not forever. I show how much energy to put," the dark-skinned mage answered.

"Now. Cast as I do. You know already. You do before in city," he instructed.

"Aim at the sand. Heat rises it will do us no good if it's already in the air," the assassin explained.

I felt energy swirl, moreover, fire energy. The spell they were casting wrapped around both of them evenly, channeled by the sorcerer's experience. They cast their flame spell into the sand at the exact same moment, with the exact same force and substance. The missiles hit the sand in sync, kicking up sand but at the same time, superheating it. I could physically see the effect. I couldn't see beyond the wave of shimmering air clearly. Everything was distorted. A perfect and seemingly natural distraction.

"Let's go. Quickly," the assassin urged as the sorcerer and warrior broke apart.

"How was it?" the rogue asked interestedly.

"Difficult," the warrior admitted. "Restraining myself was hard. If I didn't have Sovellis' guidance I probably would have over done it."

"Dangerous, just as I said," the assassin growled.

"Now that I've done it though, it will be easier next time. I know how much to put into it," he protested in his defense.

"Mages playing with things under no supervision go corrupt almost instantly," the assassin said gravely.

"I teach him. I watch him. I no let him hurt us, or him," the sorcerer promised.

"Don't make promises you can't keep, sorcerer," I laughed snidely.

"It's better than nothing. I'm with Scorpious. We can trust Sovellis," the amazon said, lending him her support.

"Watch him like a hawk. If he turns, I'll kill you both in a heartbeat," the assassin assured them coldly.

" I will do," the sorcerer agreed. "But must let me teach. If he no want to learn I can no help him."

"I do. I want to learn. I'll do this the right way," the warrior offered.

"Great. An apprentice learning from an apprentice. You're not even considered a real mage yet, sorcerer. Isn't that why you're here in this damned desert to begin with?" I snorted.

"He's really strong. If he ain't a mage then I got no clue who is. A novice couldn' take down Andariel," the barbarian argued.

"I agree," the paladin said. "You've long since gained the ability to pass whatever task your elder sent you on."

"It doesn't matter right now. We need to hurry up, get moving," the assassin said bluntly.

We picked up the pace quickly, all of us. We traveled a long way into the evening, and I was almost entirely sure we had lost whatever it was following us. Almost. Night fell as our mercenary led us through the bright starlit night into a rocky overpass. All the rocks seemingly vanished on the other side. There was nothing there but endless dunes of sand. Honestly, though I wouldn't admit it, I had no idea how to even pick a direction here when everything looked the same. You could wander in circles for days and not realize it, every thing was identical and there were no landmarks or roads. I hated the fact that I had to rely on someone else to get through this. I had to trust someone to guide me and not get us lost. And I didn't. Honestly, I've never thought much about mercenaries. Money or no, they'd sooner run away and leave you to die than fight for you. And I growled inwardly. If our mercenary did run off, then we'd get lost immediately.

The answer to my problem was simple. I'd watch him like the assassin watched the mages. And if he tried to make a run for it, I'd make him wish he really was dead. I suppose I could always rot his legs out from under him so he wouldn't get very far, but then again, someone would have to haul his ass across this forsaken waste land.

"Welcome to the Dry Hills," our mercenary said from ahead of us.

"You know where you're going?" the rogue said in wonder, looking around at the bleak landscape.

"As sure as I breathe," the mercenary assured her.

"You'd better," I growled.

"How much further?" the barbarian asked, looking around.

"Not far. We'll be there by afternoon tomorrow, if we only rest briefly," the mercenary answered.

"Walk a little ways more and then we'll camp. Or pretend to at least," the assassin instructed.

"I think we've lost them," the rogue admitted.

"Just to be safe," the assassin countered.

"Better safe than sorry," the amazon agreed.

We walked to the east, at least I think it was east, for another hour. I growled inwardly. Even at night, the desert was still blistering hot. We walked over the top of another dune in the infinite sea of them. The assassin seemed to think this was a good enough place to stop. We made camp like we normally would. I watched the assassin take several small and cylindrical objects out of her bag. She set them up around us in a oblong circle, burying them in the sand just under the surface. She returned to us, holding another one of her objects.

"What does that do?" the rogue asked her.

"It's a key to the rest of them. When I flip this switch on top, it will set an electrical charge to all the others, linking them together. They'll have to walk through lightning to get us. And if they do, they'll lose their shields," she explained.

"How long do we wait for?" the warrior inquired.

"My guess is probably not long. If they are what I think they are, they won't give up on us that easily. They won't let their prey escape," the assassin answered.

"We'll be ready," the barbarian remarked casually.

"That's the key," the amazon replied.

"Sit down and wait. Some of you lie down, make it look realistic," the assassin instructed.

"I'm not going to be on my ass or my back when I get attacked," I said bluntly.

"Then stand. No one said it has to be you," the assassin growled back.

The druid's grey mutt nudged the amazon's legs and then laid down at her feet. "Oh. I get it. I will too then," she said and laid down next to him.

"I will too," the rogue said and pretended to sleep. The brown wolf curled up next to her, and the black one walked over and planted itself beside the paladin's leg, laying down also.

The paladin sat down beside the mutt, and made to touch it, but the creature gave a soft growl, making him quickly think better of it. It must not have been as docile as the druid's grey one. That, or it didn't like the paladin. I was beginning to like this black mutt more and more.

I shot some energy at the ground and a muddy golem sprang up from the sand. Nearly everyone jumped from the surprise.

"Was that really necessary?" the paladin asked with a sigh.

"You said be convincing. We need something to patrol around us," I said. I turned to my golem and twirled my finger in a circle. The mindless creature did what I told it to without question and began to walk the oblong circle around us drudging along slowly like a somber guard.

Our mercenary eyed it mistrusting.

"Relax," the amazon told him gently. "As hideous as that thing is, it's under Piricus' control. It's not going to attack us and it will fight for him when he tells it to," she assured.

"Magic makes me uncomfortable," he admitted, leery.

"Then you ended up in the wrong damn job," I laughed.

I stopped and fell silent. I could feel the hair on my neck stand on end. Whatever was hunting us had found us.

"Keep talking," the assassin said aloud, then she and the paladin took to having a pointless conversation, all for the sake of fooling our pursuers past the assassin's trap. I heard the slightest movement before the assassin flipped the switch to her trap. Lightning sparked around us like a fence as everyone jumped to their feet. There was a mass yowling that sounded like a wounded tomcat. Cat. That's just what they were. They were the cat people that the mercenary had been talking about earlier.

In the starlight I saw them. They were tall, like the sorcerer and stood on two legs like a human. They had human arms and hands, albeit they were covered in various patterns and colors of fur. They wore armor, not unlike us. Their faces were strange. Part human with human eyes but there was a muzzle where our mouths would be. They seemed to speak some coherent language to each other, one with dark bronze fur roared loudly some strange word. One word was all it took for them to become feral. They stormed through the assassin's perimeter like it was nothing. Lightning sparked over their bodies, and not that different from the barbarian, they absorbed the shock into their thick muscles with nothing more than a ripple of fur.

They were fast. Two of them came flying at me like streaks. My golem tried to intercept them, but it was too slow. Way too slow. I had to even the playing field. I quickly cast the quickest curse I could, and as a testament to my skill it took effect immediately. I saw the muscles in their legs begin to shiver then atrophy away. They stumbled, clearly tangled up in this new deformity. They fell into the sand at my feet. I rubbed my hands together, forming energy into them. I knelt down and placed one on the back of each cat-person. Green poison permeated off my hands into their already wasting bodies. Within moments, they were totally paralyzed. I took the opportunity and ended them quickly.

I didn't have time to celebrate victory, three more came flying through the barrier at top speed. I focused quickly and pulled the poison I had just put into the bodies of the fallen spear cats up through their skin with explosive force. The bodies combusted, spewing gore everywhere, but the blast killed two more of the three. The remaining cat creature was thrown severely off balance, but, like a cat, it's reflexes were incredible. It recovered in record time and swiped out at me with it's weapon. This creature didn't have a sword or an axe. It had a whip. Not that much of a threatening weapon, but quick, like they were. Before I had time to avoid it, the whip snaked around my arm and the monster yanked, pulling the dagger from my hand and me forward.

My golem managed to intercept me at this point. It lumbered over and grabbed the cat-creature from behind, pinning both its arms. My golem lifted it into the air, struggling like a cornered alley cat, before slamming it head first into the ground at my feet, dead.

"I knew I made you for a reason," I said with a laugh unheard by everyone else.

My laughter died quickly. I had no idea where they were coming from, but three more enemies charged me. They ripped into my golem, tearing it apart. They sloshed their feet through the disheveled muddy remains and were all lashing out at me together. I called the bones that the explosion had scattered all over into use. They swirled around me protectively, shielding me from harm. I could feel several hard shoves coming from three directions. It was pushing me steadily back, strategically. I noted out of the corner of my eye that the others were backing up too. Before any of us could really do anything about it, we were back to back, and backed up against the flat side of the dune we had made camp on. We had nowhere to go. The paladin, amazon, and warrior interlocked their shields like plates, making a solid barrier next to me. My shield extended just around me. The male mage had once again conjured a mana shield, and was protecting those of us with nothing.

The creatures continued to whip at us with weapons and claws. I heard a shattering sound, breaking glass. I didn't have to wait very long to figure out what it was. One of the creatures had tossed a fire bomb over our heads into the dune behind us. Fueled by oil and already present heat, the sand behind us caught fire. We were trapped. If we didn't move forward, we'd be burned alive, but if we moved forward, they'd get us.

"Push them back as far as you can!" the paladin yelled and shoved hard on his shield, though it did little good. My shield itself took a terrible beating until at last the bones broke so far into chips they were little more than dust and completely useless to me. I blocked a striking whip with my arm. It wrapped around me and yanked roughly. I wanted to yell out as something started digging into my arm. It didn't take me long to realize that this whip was barbed. And the more I struggled, the more it sawed into me. I blasted energy into my opponent and killed it quickly, relieving the pain and pressure as I yanked the whip off. Fire was beginning to sear my back as the flames came dangerously close to touching us. Despite the sorcerer's better attempts, the flames came through his shield.

The second his shield was down, the cat-creatures closed in on them. The barbarian stepped in front of the rogue as three of them tackled him to the ground. Several of them grabbed the sorcerer, but it was like grabbing a hot pan. They recoiled in pain and backed up. One of them snapped a whip around his throat and made to yank back. The assassin leaned across him and cut the leather as she kicked out at the same time, trying to keep more off of her. She dodged a whip but not a furry tail. It swept her feet out from under her. One of the cats sprang on top of her as she threw her feet up. Her feet caught it's midsection but it was obviously too heavy to just kick off. The assassin grappled with her feet, trying to keep the monster in the air and away from her face, but she was struggling hard.

The cat-people all moved in at once, like a well organized militia and broke through our defenses. I have no idea how it happened, but soon all of us were overtaken and battling as best we could to stay alive. I saw a cat-creature grab the amazon around the throat and pick her up. The warrior tried to help her but they tackled him on the ground sideways. The paladin tried to help her too, but one of our enemies pushed his shield so hard when he tried to block with it that he fell on his back in the sand. He covered his face with it just in time, avoiding a clawed swipe at his face. One of the cats attacking him jumped atop his shield and starting stomping on it, driving it painfully against the paladin's body like a crushing rock.

I had my own problems. I couldn't react fast enough and soon I was on the ground too, kicking and punching at whatever I could reach. They were too close for me to cast an energy barb, the force of impact would have blasted into me as well as them. Things looked bad to say the least. I snarled and lashed out. All of this, everything we'd been through, to be bested by a bunch of cats.

I heard an enraged snarl from behind me as something walked up to my side. It was the druid's black mutt. Great. A mutt. What could that thing possibly do? I blinked in surprise. The cat-people holding me yelped and immediately let go. The mutt continued to growl them down, slowly advancing. The further the mutt went, the further they backed off. I saw out of the corner of my eye that the cat holding the amazon had dropped her. The druid's grey mutt was beside her, snarling at her aggressor with fury. Even further down the line, next to the assassin, was the brown mutt, acting in perfect harmony with the others.

I blinked. The mutts had placed themselves at strategic intervals in front of us, and were pushing the line of spear cats back. Soon, they were completely off of us. Without warning, the grey mutt threw its head up and let out a piercing howl. The other two caught on and soon the eerie sound of angry wolves filled the air. The Spear Cats jumped and all of them and scuttled backwards. The mutts growled in unison and suddenly sprang forward at our aggressors in a flat out run.

"ARJA!" the bronzy one yelled in terror and without warning, the spear cats all turned tail and ran out into the desert with the druid's mutts chasing them.


	7. Chapter 7

-1An: Sorry guys that this took so long to finish, I'm working two jobs in addition to going to school so the progress is going to be slow for a while =(

Enemies

Piricus

We didn't have to wait long. The druid's mutts were back from their assault before we really had time to contemplate their fate. The silver one dipped its head as it came back. The amazon walked over to him without hesitation.

"Are you okay?" she asked eagerly, checking him over for injuries.

"Why wouldn't they be, amazon? Those damn cats were terrified, they'd rather run than fight. Though, I could have done the same thing with a curse," I sneered.

"Then why didn't you, asshole?" the warrior growled.

"He was like the rest of us," the paladin said plainly, "preoccupied."

"He's not hurt," the amazon said with a sigh of relief.

"Looks like they're fine too," the rogue said, eyeing the other members of the mutt's newly formed pack as they walked obediently behind him.

"I never thought I'd see the day when beasts protected men like one of their own. Your druid is a truly remarkable man," our mercenary said in wonder.

" It takes two to tango. Belthem is extraordinary too," the amazon said with a smile as she ruffled his fur affectionately.

"So it seems. My friends, I believe now that we are in no immediate danger we should leave here, lest the cat women return," he said, leery.

"Cat women?" the rogue asked curiously.

"Yes. If you were paying attention, you would have noticed that all of the creatures that attacked us were female," the assassin relayed.

"Why that?" the sorcerer asked, pondering out loud.

"I'm not entirely sure," the assassin admitted. "Though, if we're judging them by lion standards, the females are the warriors. It's the lionesses that are the most dangerous. They hunt in packs and work together. The male is only there to ward off other males and to breed."

"But they were half human too," the rogue observed.

"Which only makes 'em more dangerous," the barbarian said gravely. "Means they're jus' as smart as we are."

"If not smarter," the assassin grumbled.

"That's behind us now. I agree with Ahmad, let's move forward. The sooner we get to the Halls of the Dead, the sooner we can complete our task and be done," the paladin said, sheathing his sword on his belt.

"How much further did you say we have to go, Ahmad?" the amazon asked.

"Not far, we should be there by morning if we don't stop," he replied. Just what exactly are we looking for down there, anyway?"

"I'm not sure. Deckard Cain told us a story about how to create a horadric staff. He said the ancient mages broke the staff into two pieces and hid them somewhere here in the desert. He said we can't complete the staff without a horadric cube. My guess is that we should probably find that first," the amazon informed.

"A horadric staff? As in the ancient order? That's a powerful artifact. Are you treasure seekers?" the mercenary asked curiously.

"No, we--" the warrior began.

"We need it for another purpose, but that's not your place to pry. Do your job and that doesn't include asking us questions," the assassin interjected.

A good thing, in my opinion. If this idiot knew what we could possibly run into out here he'd leave us here for sure.

"As you wish," he said submissively.

"Why can't all of you be like that? Like a whipped dog?" I laughed, watching him.

Fire flashed in the mercenary's eyes, but the paladin placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him.

"That is unnecessary, Piricus," he chided.

"You are unnecessary as a whole, paladin," I hissed at him.

"Wha's tha'?" the barbarian asked, going stiff at once.

I saw them too, they looked like ripples of sand traveling at us slowly. I would say it was nothing more than wind, but there was not even a whisper of a breeze.

"Keep moving," the paladin advised as he stepped into place beside the mercenary in front of us. "Keep an eye on it."

"We'll need more eyes than yours, paladin. You're so blinded by unrequited faith you could walk straight off a cliff and not know the difference," I said to him coldly.

"I'd think it would be funny when his faith saves him like it always does," the amazon giggled.

"Be quiet, amazon," I snapped at her.

"She upgraded in status with you. You no say to her, shut up, bitch," the sorcerer laughed.

"Well that is a good thing. That after all this time, you have found some semblance of respect for someone," the paladin said with a sigh.

"I thought you said we were even now, why are you being so nice to me?" the amazon said with a smile.

"Honestly, I'm tired and I can't think of a good insult right now," I shot back. Maybe the paladin was right, I growled to myself. Maybe I was starting to respect her, even just a little. But, that needed to be short lived, else I'd become a slobbering idiot like the paladin. I could only rely on me, myself, and I. I watched the sand carefully and noted with some tension that the ripples were gone.

My tension was justified. In a flash, something jumped out of nowhere from beneath my feet and flew at my face. I grabbed it just in time to fling it off. I didn't get a good look, but I did get an earful of noise. It sounded like high-pitched chatter and clicking. Blurs of movement suddenly erupted from the sand all around us.

I drew my dagger and took a well aimed swing at a mass flying at me. I hit and drew blood, which splattered along the ground in a line. I watched as the venom from my dagger began to take hold and paralyze my attacker. It stumbled in the starlight. It was some sort of animal. It was hunched on all fours and had grossly long legs that were awkward to its body length. The legs were long and narrow and ended in wicked, curving claws. They had blunt noses and gapping maws with rows of razor-sharp teeth. That, and they looked like spiders with their many eyes.

I blasted an energy bolt into it, killing it and pivoted on one foot, putting momentum into another strike against a creature that was leaping at my back. This one landed in the sand, just short, then leaned onto its haunches and sprung up into the air. I'll be honest. I've never seen anything jump that high, it was like these things were going to take flight like a bird.

They were all jumping around over top of us like grotesque grasshoppers, and jumping so high they were impossible to reach. They would land only briefly, just long enough to lash out at us, before taking refuge in the air once again. They were incredibly nimble, and incredibly fast. The rogue was trying to shoot them down, but all her arrows were missing. The amazon surveyed the situation and locked her eyes on one in particular. She followed it and her eyes bounced with the creature when it landed. She waited and launched a javelin into the creature's path. It impaled the monster and killed it as it's body fell to the ground. In a sickening display, the other monsters twisted in midair and latched onto parts of their pack-mate, ripping them off and swallowing them whole with screams of delight. The amazon's javelin fell back to the earth almost completely clean.

One of the monsters sprung on top of her, tackling her to the ground and ripped into her with claws. She had armor on her forearms, which was the only way she didn't lose her arm. The monster clamped down on the bracer and actually broke a tooth. It yelped from the unpleasant surprise and stumbled long enough for her to get to her feet and finish it off with her crystal sword.

Maybe the monsters were like any other intelligent predator, they went for the weakest link first, namely, the rogue. She had no melee weapons, save her crossbow, but that by itself wasn't going to kill anything. All she could do was swing to keep them at bay. One clamped down hard on the shaft of the weapon and flung it from her grasp.

The warrior turned from his own battle and hurled his shield like a knife into a creature that was about to pounce on her. It hit the monster full force and sent it smashing into the sand.

"Pick it up!" the warrior called out to her.

She quickly did as she was told and raced through a barrage of creatures toward the shield. She got to it and threw it over herself as two monstrosities came crashing down on it.

I saw a knife and an axe fly through the air. Both projectiles landed in the creatures' heads, killing them. The barbarian and the warrior were side by side, with more throwing weapons ready. They became engulfed in a battle of their own, which forced them back to back.

The assassin, to her credit, was just as dexterous as the horrors attacking us. She was managing to parry blows as if they were nothing. She spun in the air and kicked one. It went flying backwards and as it flew, she pulled a throwing knife off her own from her belt and nailed the target between the eyes.

I was genuinely surprised by who came to the rogue's aid as I watched her struggle. Our mercenary. Like the paladin, he flung himself beside her and swung in a circle around them with his halberd, keeping the monsters away. He twisted the blade of the weapon point first into the air and impaled a demon that came crashing down.

" 'is ain't workin'," the barbarian growled in frustration as he swung his massive axe out in front of himself a little too slow. The creature bit down in his hand. He winced and dropped his axe, but used his free hand to grasp the creature's blunt neck and twist. It's spine snapped and he yanked the carcass off his hand with a growl. He threw the dead corpse like a missile into another one of the creatures which knocked it into the path of the sorcerer. He blasted them with fireballs charring both the corpse and the live one to ash.

Three more jumped on the sorcerer from on high and knocked him over. I felt a wave of energy before his body sparked for a second. Lightning rippled through and off of him like a nova, frying all of them dead.

Another one jumped at me and I took a step back. I grabbed one of its arms and dug my nails into the struggling monster. When blood started to leak out I channeled some poisonous energy into the wound. It convulsed and then it died. I ducked as another one went flying over my head. This was getting on my nerves. I considered casting one of my infamous poison novas, but that would just all but scream my identity to the assassin. Hell, maybe the time was now. She was going to find out eventually. Well, then again, maybe not. If Darius could be convincing enough, they might rule me out altogether. That is, if I didn't become a display case of poisonous talent.

I settled for something far less grand. I conjured a bone spear and grabbed the butt, swinging it like a bat into an oncoming monster. Once it was down, I loosed the spear and some energy into it, burning a hole through its middle.

I heard the paladin call something out in that strange language of his and like so many times before, his magic wrapped around out bodies like halos. Thin needles of light went flying off of us every time a creature got close. I scoffed, but then watched with a growl as his magic began to make a notable difference. The air was filled with glittering streaks of light from the paladin's aura. My lip curled as I watched them begin to die like pin cushions until there were none of them left.

"What was all that?" the warrior growled, kicking the corpse of a nearby monster.

"One of many horrors this desert holds as of late. They are called Sand Leapers. We have no idea what they really are, if they're some type of mutated animal or if they are demons. Moreover we have no clue where they came from either, like the cat women, these monsters are not native to the desert," the mercenary informed as he helped the rogue over to us.

"Nothing is native, anywhere we go," I growled. "We're just lucky that way."

"You right," the sorcerer said with distaste as he stepped over the pile of bodies his magic had shocked to death.

"We're still alive and that's what matters," the amazon said, examining her damaged armor. "And I just fixed this," she sighed, flexing it.

"Could have been your arm, amazon," I said bluntly.

"I know that. I'm not complaining," she insisted curtly, a strange thing for her. My guess was that she was like the rest of us, tired, but too high strung to rest. Not that I would rest if we stopped anyway. We were a prime target out here in the sands with no covering terrain. I had gone without sleep before, this would be no different.

"What else could possibly happen out here?" the warrior snapped as he took his shield back from the rogue.

"You know very well what could happen. Pray that it doesn't," the assassin said gravely.

"Did I miss something?" the mercenary said looking all of us over.

I started laughing. "Hmm. Maybe you do have half a wit."

"Shut up," the barbarian hissed.

"What are you expecting to see out here?" the mercenary asked quietly.

"Nothing pleasant," I said with a snide smile.

The paladin sighed. "It is entirely speculation, my friend. We have enemies, plan and simple. They could be anywhere, even here. Just keep your eyes open."

I was going to say something, but the amazon elbowed me in the arm. I hissed at her and made to shove her back, but she moved aside. "You're getting on my nerves, amazon."

"You say that a lot," she smiled. "But seriously," she said, glaring at me, "don't make a bad situation worse."

"Amen," the warrior said sarcastically.

The paladin sighed again.

"What's the matter, paladin? Did he misuse your favorite word?" I sneered.

"I've learned to tune things like this out," he said in his defense.

"Guys," the rogue said timidly. "We should go."

"That's true. Tell us, Ahmad, have you or your friends seen anything else that we need to know about?" the paladin asked as we started moving forward.

The mercenary considered to himself for a moment. "We have seen strange monsters that look like a cross between a gorilla and a crocodile. They have furry bodies and long, muscular arms. They have a short face, but a crocodile's maw and claws on their legs. They have long, scaly tails. They run like wind and strike like a rock. We have no name for these horrors, so we've just taken to calling them dune beasts, after all, that's where we see them. Then," he continued, "there are of course swarms of locusts, sand maggots, and lightning scarabs. Those are natural here, but every bit of them lethal."

"Sounds li' fun," the barbarian grumbled.

"I hear of lightning scarab. They magical. They giant beetles that walk on two legs. You touch, they spark. Shells absorb charge from air and channel like metal," the sorcerer informed.

"A good thing to know. We'll be ready when and if we see them," the paladin assured.

"I wish Cloudyous was here," the amazon said, "he could really have told us a lot about the creatures you just mentioned."

"Maybe you should ask the wolf, amazon," I said sarcastically.

"He's smarter than you think," she retorted as she stroked his head from where he was walking beside her with his companions. The amazon got a nasty look on her face.

"WATCH OUT!" the rogue yelped a little too late. Some object went whizzing through the air, aimed at the silver mutt. He amazon tried to push him out of the way, and she succeeded, at the cost of injury to herself. She yelled out and swore profusely, grabbing her wrist with her opposite hand. I could smell the blood from where I stood. She hissed and stumbled back, clutching her wrist in a death grip, trying to steady herself. When she staggered back into the moonlight I could clearly see the iron knife that was lodged in her hand. It had impaled her right through her palm, going through both sides.

The paladin raced over as quick as he always did. He pulled a bandage from his bag as she pulled the weapon out. Blood fountained from the wound like rain. The silver wolf snarled loudly, igniting a fury in the other two. They raced forward, but they didn't get very far. Something smashed into the ground and shattered. Green smoke filled the air and even the mercenary knew what it was. Poison. I could hear them gagging and realized what it was. Choking gas. Everyone around me was affected, save myself. I could hear them choke and fall on their knees. As for me, I had no clue what had just happened or where the attack had just come from. From the sound the bottle had made, my guess was somewhere to the right. The poison may not have been effective on me, but the cloud of fumes blinded me. I couldn't see a thing.

Out of nowhere something heavy landed on top of me. I struggled with everything I had, but it was no use. The more I struggled, the tighter the hold got. I blinked and tried to move my arms. I could vaguely make out lines. It dawned on me. I was in some kind of net and succeeding only in becoming more entangled it in. The ropes were cutting into me, and soon I also realized they were made of some type of metal, hence why they were so heavy. Soon there was only one sound left. The paladin's chanting voice. I felt his magic wrap around me, though through my own immunity it did no good. My guess was it was too late to help the others.

Out of nowhere something lifted me into the air and we began moving. The smoke cleared and soon I was staring into the golden eyes of three cat women, carrying me in a metal net like a fish. A group of them emerged behind us, carrying four more nets. One had the sorcerer, the warrior, and the rogue. The barbarian was in one of his own and they were struggling to lift him. The three mutts were in one and they were surrounded by nearly a dozen of she-cats on all sides, which were holding the nets by the very corners as far away from the animals as they could be. That left the amazon, the assassin, and our mercenary in the last net. They of course, were accompanied by the paladin, who was, much to my dismay, still awake.

"What are you doing up, paladin? Isn't it past your bedtime," I yelled at him sarcastically.

"Piricus? You're still conscious?" he called back, confused.

"Good job moron. So much for keeping your eyes open," I snarled.

"Your eyes were good as mine," he shouted back.

I hissed and started to struggle. Maybe I could blast my way out. I conjured an energy barb and grabbed the front of the net. I made to cast my spell, but something stabbed into my back. It was sharp and I could feel a small trail of blood there.

"What the hell are you doing, bitch!" I hissed, looking at my assailant.

The half-human looked me over with wild eyes. She shook her head. "Hafvranna geta, wenga," she growled in a throaty voice.

"I have no clue what the hell you just said, I'm going to kick your ass," I said and tried my spell again.

She kicked upwards, slamming her furry knee into my bad shoulder. I won't lie. It hurt like hell and threw my concentration off.

"Don't fight," the paladin called from behind me. "They don't want to kill us or they would have by now."

"You're too trusting, rubbish-preacher. They're going to take us where they want us, then eat us like they tried to do last time," I snarled.

"They could kill you now, and you don't really stand a chance against all of them," he countered, though calmly.

"That's what you think," I snapped. It was time for one of my poison novas. I concentrated, but was once again interrupted. I was suddenly hurled into the sand roughly. I looked around me and found that were in a small village. There were domes of what looked like packed sand and rock. There, all around us, were cat women. They dropped the others behind me. I could feel the unease around me as the cat-creatures laid eyes on the mutts.

"Arja . . ." they all seemed to whisper together. One of the mutts stirred ever so slightly and all of them jumped backwards.

Out of the night we were approached by a massive black figure, flanked by two smaller ones. The cat-women holding us instantly dropped to their knees. And roared loudly, my guess was some type of salute.

When I could see the newcomer clearly, it was a cat-person too, only male. It had a mane of hair around its face and neck and massive paws twice the size of the females'. His tail had a tuft of fur the same color as his mane, and it was twitching dangerously.

"Let me guess, you're the asshole in charge?" I said sarcastically, knowing that he couldn't possibly understand me. One of the females beside him walked over and kicked me hard in the side.

"You are a prisoner here," she snarled. "Address my master with respect!"

"So, you can talk, furball? Well then let me tell you that I have no respect for people that try to kill me, bitch. You try to kill me, I try to kill you, that's generally how it works," I retorted.

"Silence, fool!" she growled, which was half cat sounding.

The male held up a claw. "Gyra, handa fen."

"Great more gibberish. Say something useful," I snapped.

She snarled and made to hit me again, but the grey mutt whined in his unconscious state. She heard it and jumped. The male cast them a leery glance.

"Tu vanna, arja?" he said, speaking a completely foreign tongue.

"I don't speak cat. Maybe I do. Meow," I said with a hiss.

"Be quiet, Piricus," the paladin said sternly, making all eyes rest on him.

"Hdrath, funta Zakarum?" the male cat said, eyeing the cross on the paladin's armor.

The paladin looked at him strangely, then pointed to the symbol on his chest and nodded. " Zakarum," he affirmed. He pointed to himself. "Scorpious."

The lion-man looked him over carefully, then to his female sidekick. "Allo fan, Ketan."

She glowered at us, before she begun to translate. "My master says his name is Ketan."

The paladin nodded. "I see. Tell me, my lady, what is your name?" he asked politely.

She snarled loudly. "I'm no lady, how dare you compare me to a rubber-skin!"

"Way to go. Yeah bitch, you should tear him apart. Then maybe you and me could be friends," I snorted.

The male lion tapped her shoulder and sighed.

"Yut," she said apologetically. "My name is Gyra, rubber-skin," she hissed.

"Forgive my ignorance. I was trying to be polite. Gyra, why have you brought us here? I remember you, you were one of those that attacked us earlier tonight," he said, slightly stiff.

"My master has a mission for you," she said, looking at him.

"Too bad, I don't work for kittens," I growled.

"Bark all you want, rubber-skin. If you decline, we will kill all of you right now," the cat-woman said nastily.

"How is it that you can talk?" the paladin asked curiously.

"I was a trader in Ureh in the eastern jungles. I know much about the nature of you rubber-skins," she said curtly.

"Ask your master what his request is," the paladin said calmly.

"If your tail-sniffer companion would have kept his mouth shut, I would have told you. In exchange for your lives, we would like you to rescue one of our pride-mates," she said gruffly.

"Rescue? What happened?" the paladin asked gently.

"She was taken into the rubber-skin crypt by a tail-sniffer we call RubyClaw the Wild. You see, RubyClaw was my master's finest warrior and something, we know not what, drove her mad. She was so insane that we were forced to kill her after she attacked my master and killed three of our sisters. But," she started.

"Didn't stay dead, did she, bitch?" I asked sarcastically.

She snorted. "As much as I wish it weren't so, you speak the truth. Something animated her body or at least corrupted her soul, so now she freely wanders the tombs below the sand with numerous creatures of death at her call. We have made several attempts at a rescue, but we lose more of our sisters each time," she explained.

"I see," the paladin said soothingly. "Well, why ask us?"

"Because you have bested our best. And you are they who walk with arja," she responded curtly.

"Arja? You mean the wolves?" the paladin asked slowly.

"Do not speak the name! Arja means demon and that's what they are. Demons! So, surely we thought that if you travel with demons you must be strong indeed," she said with a hiss.

"Okay, fine," I snapped, "so you send us to the Halls of the Dead. What's to keep us from running away?" I said bluntly.

"All of you will not be going," she said flatly. "And your clock is already ticking. With the poison we gave your friends, they will slumber for a full cycle of the sun before the venom stops their hearts completely. If you return and you succeed, we will give them the antidote and send you on your way," she ordered.

"So, who the hell are you giving the antidote to?" I growled.

"No one. You two will go together. You are the strongest, only the two of you have bested the poison," she said as if it were the only logical explanation.

"You're out of your Trag 'Oul damn mind! I despise him! I'll kill him as soon as help him!" I said, going feral at once.

"That is not our concern. We will send you out together and then you may sort it out. Perhaps you will be as the arja and fight it out for dominance. We care not who does it, but it would only require one of you to return. Another way of putting it, it matters not if neither of you comes back. We will have lost nothing, same as now. But if you do come back together and with our fellow pride-mate then everyone gains," she said plainly.

"I don't trust you, you'll kill me when I get back," I hissed.

"You don't have a choice. Then look at it this way, the more time you spend on this task is the more time you are alive. Your friends don't have forever and neither do you. Decide. What's it to be?" she said with an unsettling look in her wild eyes.

"I don't know about Piricus, but I will do what you have asked. These are my friends and I am responsible for their lives," the paladin said nobly.

"I'm not going anywhere with you, steeple-chaser," I said bluntly.

"You will either go with him, or die where you are," the cat-bitch told me.

"Working with me does seem profitable for you at the moment, Piricus," the paladin said with a sigh.

"So if I kill him and run off on my own then what?" I said with distain.

"Then most likely the desert will claim you and we will claim your friends. I highly doubt you know the way out of here," the cat-woman insisted.

"These are not my friends, I don't care what happens to them," I said truthfully.

"You need this cube, Piricus. We were going to the Halls of the Dead anyway. You need the staff to do what Deckard Cain told us, and therefore what Jeryhn told us. The sooner you convince Jerhyn that things are back to normal, the sooner you can leave for Kurast," he reasoned.

"I hate you, paladin. I always have, always will," I hissed.

"Does that mean you'll help?" he asked.

"I really don't have a choice now that you put it that way," I snarled.

"Very well," the cat-woman said to us, then said something to the male. He nodded.

"Gyra, we don't know the way, our friend Ahmad was leading us," the paladin explained.

"The way is simple. Follow the stars of Tyreal. The three on the horizon in the shape of a sword. The blade will point the way. I would hurry if I were you. Dawn will be soon and then you will loose your way," she said plainly.

"Auna dre hatta," she said to some of the cat-creatures around us. They backed up and removed the netting from us.

"I will walk you to the edge of our sight," she said simply.

"Don't try anything, Piricus," the paladin said gravely.

"Unlike you, I'm not stupid," I insisted with hate.

We walked over the dunes until we were in a vast ocean of sand.

"How will we find our way back?" the paladin asked skeptically as we looked out over the wastes.

"If you find Nira, she will know the way. Pray to your gods that she still lives," she said simply and with a swish of her tail she was gone.

For moments me and the paladin just looked at each other. I was the first to break the silence.

"I'm going to kill you, paladin."


	8. Chapter 8

Halls of the Dead

Piricus

The paladin looked at me briefly. "Excuse me?"

"You heard what I just said, airhead. This is unbelievable! To be stuck with you out here in the desert! Well, that's not going to happen. You're a liability, and you'll only slow me down. You're going to die in there anyway, without anybody else to help you and I don't like you so I might as well take you out myself," I snarled.

The paladin blinked, and then his serene face wavered for a second. "Are you serious? It's hard to tell when you are because you've said that to me so many times before," he said bluntly.

"Dead serious," I hissed and drew my dagger.

The paladin actually scowled, then sighed. "Somehow I knew it was going to come down to this eventually. That you'd try to kill me. Alright then, Piricus. Take your best shot, this will be mountains harder than you believe," he replied and drew his sword.

I didn't give him the option of striking first. I lunged at him, and he blocked with his shield, but I caught the underside of it with my knee. The shield followed the motion and lifted up a split second, long enough for me to strike underneath it.

The paladin lashed out with his armored leg and my dagger hit the metal and, following the motion of his kick, glanced off, raking the side and leaving a scratch there. It was his turn to strike at me. He shoved back with his shield, but I moved backwards, away from it to avoid taking the strike. However, moving backwards put me into range of his sword. He swung with speed and power, everything I would expect from a warrior of Zakarum. But, I was strong too. I blocked with my dagger, and in retaliation sent some poison energy off of it.

He saw the green mist and immediately relinquished contact with my blade. He fanned it away with his shield, before going back on the assault. That damn shield had to go. I cast a barb spell as he closed the distance between us. He was a little slow, and took the missile at pointblank range with his shield. I scowled. That shield was enchanted, because my spell only singed the metal. That damned instrument still held. Though on a positive note, the impact sent him backwards, and I flung another spell at him while he was down. He thrust the shield out in front of himself as he returned to his feet. This time he was further away. The spell hit, and did more damage, but the shield still didn't break. Time for something with some piercing capability.

I conjured a bone spear and loosed it at him. It gained energy from my will, and from the air around it as it sped forward. It began to spiral, it had some much force behind it. The paladin saw it and he knew what was about to happen. He sacrificed his shield as he threw it away from himself. Sure enough, the spear hit the metal and went straight through to where the paladin's body would have been had he held onto it.

"Not doing so hot, paladin," I laughed, and conjured several teeth spells in succession. "Dance," I snickered as he began dodging them as best he was able. To his credit, he managed most of them. The last two were going to hit him. He shot his hand out in front of himself, and cast a bolt of his own energy, the stupid spell his kind called Holy Bolts. The white magic collided with my green one and caused a small explosion. The paladin chanted something, and then a golden light wrapped around him, absorbing the last barb spell.

Stupid auras. Well, bad news for him. Curses counteracted them. I thought for a moment on all the various ones I could use. I said the words and cast a curse that would weaken and nullify his shield. Sure enough, my green-yellow light hit his golden one and cancelled it. It was time for another curse, one to really get things going. I would take his legs out from under him. I cast the curse that would decrepify him. I could see the muscles in his legs begin to twitch. He staggered a bit, then quickly chanted something. A pulsing, blue-white light erupted around his body and I felt the strength come back into his legs. How annoying.

This would be a thousand times easier if I could have conjured an army of skeletons. That was one stupid my mistake I had made. I was so gung-ho to get rid of him that I hadn't really thought that much about the bone content of the terrain. There was nothing here but sand. Well, that was something, but first I would try something else.

I focused on the twisting nether that I always used to animate my skeletons with souls. There were many spirits there, trapped and tormented. What I was doing was dangerous, or would have been to someone inexperienced, messing around with things like this. I pulled a bone spirit, a demonic spirit of rage and death from the realm carefully with my mind. It fought back enormously, though I suppressed it easily enough. That was a thing for which I was thankful that I had Lord Rathma for a teacher. If I messed this up, this creature could tear the soul from my chest.

I saw the paladin's face as I loosed the ethereal skull from between my hands. That had to have been the worst look I had ever seen him give anyone. He knew what I had just thrown at him. His lip curled and he snarled loudly. The thing was impossibly fast as it sped toward the paladin. Good. He'd finally realize when that thing took his soul that his pretend God would not save him.

Apparently, he too had some special skill of his own. He said something with a shout and an ethereal hammer erupted from nowhere, spiraling around his body like my bone shield would have swirled around me. I'd heard the pathetic legend behind that power; he was drawing on the power of some dumbass women that sacrificed themselves to protect some stupid paladin artifact. What a waste. At the last second the hammer barreled out in front of him and smashed into the bone spirit's skull, vaporizing it.

"That was unbelievable!" the paladin thundered. "Maria was right to question you! She should take you out when she sees you next if you're willing to just destroy a soul just like that!" he roared.

"Like that, did you paladin?" I said with a sarcastic laugh.

He snarled, that was all the words he had apparently. He charged at me, and his sword suddenly began sparking to life. Waves of colored energy permeated off his blade, I could feel elemental energies around it.

"Souls can be used to help me as well," the paladin roared and I realized that was where his blade was getting its power. I quickly conjured the only shield I could. A clay golem erupted from the ground and stepped in front of me protectively. The paladin's sword smashed into the creature I could feel the extreme amount of damage it was taking. I was having to fuel more and more of my energy into it just to keep it together.

White balls of light sprang to life from nowhere, and ate holes through my golem. It collapsed back into earth like it had been before. At least, the elemental power of the paladin's blade seemed to have exhausted itself. He got too close and I sprayed him in the face with a poison bolt. He choked and stumbled, giving me enough time to land a strike. My poisoned blade slid under his bracer on his left arm as he blocked with it. I could see it begin to take effect coupled with the earlier poison he was losing ground fast. A

A green light flowed over his body and purged the poison. He shouted and a ring of white fire erupted around his body. It burned my arm as I lashed out with my dagger. This wasn't working, but I knew something that would. I shouted with the most powerful curse I knew. We called it the Iron Maiden. He hit me in the leg with his sword, and I could tell he had gotten flesh. Blood started leaking out in trails on my leg, but also on his. I could see his own blood begin to drip out of his armor. He had a gash like mine in exactly the same spot. Fire from his aura latched onto my injured arm, and, to my delight, my injured shoulder. Sure, it hurt like hell, but he was suddenly in a world of hurt. He actually dropped his sword as a reflex and clutched it tightly, though there was nothing physically wrong. He shared my pain, and a little burn from his own damn aura.

"That was stupid, paladin," I said, eyeing his sword on the ground. "Stop hurting yourself, paladin," I taunted and swung at him again.

"Two can play at this game," he snarled as a ring of golden light materialized from thin air. I realized what it was, he'd used it before. I hit his aura with my hand as I went to strike him, and pins of golden light flew into my body. I shouted in pain, and so did he. The more and more we struck at each other, the more and more the two conflicting powers tore us up. Somehow, his aura and my curse were doing the exact same thing. We were both starting to become bloody and I knew the only way to make this stop before I died was to quit hitting him. I had to come up with something that would hurt him, and not me. I smiled a sly smile. I knew exactly what to do.

I waited for him to back down, then I channeled energy into myself. I channeled so much of it I actually raised off the ground for a second. I said the words that had become my signature and a ring of poison blasted out from around my body. It was so strong, it had even eaten away at some of the sand. I of course, am immune to most poisons, especially my own, so it did nothing to affect me. I saw the green light around the paladin's body, but he collapsed, coughing.

When the cloud had cleared, I growled. Somehow, he was still alive, though he was now helpless on the ground. My guess was that aura of his was enough to save his life, but not enough to help him out of this. I sauntered towards him triumphant. I was finally going to end this maggot's life. I grabbed him by the throat and hoisted him up. He was still choking, so he couldn't say anything.

"Silence at last, well amost. This is a good sound for you, paladin," I mocked as I pulled my dagger up and prepared to finish him. He grabbed my arm and struggled feebly. Something suddenly hit my face with such force that I dropped him. Something grazed the side of it and I felt a sharp pain there. I realized that a knife had just come flying out from under the paladin's armor. I hissed. That was the ingenuity of the assassin right there.

The paladin kicked my legs out from under me, and suddenly I was on the ground. He rolled and grabbed his sword, still coughing. He pulled something from under his breastplate and drank it. He stopped coughing, though he still looked a little green as he rolled over once more, on top of me, with his sword to my throat. He put his sword there the same time I placed my dagger on his throat and we both struggled there for a minute. He pushed me dangerously close, then I pushed him. Minutes passed and neither one of us relented.

"Are you going to kill me, paladin?" I sneered through gritted teeth.

"Are you going to kill me, Piricus? Seems we're at a bit of an impasse," his said, though his breath was labored.

"I'll get you," I snarled.

"Not before I get you back," he growled. "This is stupid," he continued. "I don't want to kill you, Piricus, though I should."

"Sympathy will not work on me, paladin," I hissed.

"How about reason? Surely it would be better to have two people go after this cube. And just think, if you kill me, which won't happen before I kill you also, but for the sake of pretend, if you did kill me, somehow got the cube and left that sabercat we're supposed to rescue to die, then the others would die, but more importantly, you have no idea how to get out of this desert. You'd likely die too. And do you honestly think that you could face Diablo by yourself? Out here in the desert with nothing to use as a resource? Be serious," the paladin groaned and continued to push back with as much as he could muster.

"I stand a better chance than you, paladin," I shot back.

"And all of us, you, me, and the others, stand a better chance together," he continued.

I growled. I wouldn't admit it, but right now his logic was sound. Out here, I had no clue where I'm going and there was nothing I could really use to help me here either.

"Let me up, paladin," I snapped.

"Let go of me first," he demanded.

"I don't trust you," I hissed.

"Well, out of the two of us, my word seems to be better," he said with venom.

I snarled, but then stopped fighting. True to a valiant idiot, he kept his word and let me up, even after I had just tried to kill him.

We both panted. He looked at me and shook his head.

"How are you not dead, paladin? That poison nova has killed everything I've ever used it on but you," I said icily.

"Almost did," he admitted. "To your credit, I've never dealt with poison that strong before. I was all I could do to stay conscious. The only thing that really saved me was the antidote Maria made for me a while back."

"Why would that bitch make something like that for you?" I asked with a scowl.

"For this exact reason. She thought you were going to attack me," he answered bluntly. "You," he said straightening up and sheathing his sword, "Are the one Maria's after. With poison like that and the track record you say it has, you have to be," he furthered.

"Got that right, moron," I said plainly. "Gotta tell you though, I'm going to kill that bitch when she attacks me."

"Did you kill those people because you didn't like them, like you just tried to do to me?" he asked calmly.

"No bible-brain. They attacked us first. You see, they took several necromancers, which had done nothing wrong, captured and killed them. Assassins, like everyone else, hate us, plain and simple. Assassins, as you know, think they are the police of magic-kind. They think we're corrupt, just because the things we do are unnatural to them. Anyway, I was supposed to get them back. They were all dead when I got there, so of course I wasn't going to be some whipped dog, lie down and cry for my losses and pray for redemption to some imaginary god. I was going to kill the bastards, every last one. I don't know about you, paladin, but when someone kills my family they are all going to die, no questions asked," I explained with a snarl.

"So you did it out of vengeance then?" he reiterated.

"Were you not listening, idiot?" I growled.

"I was. I do not agree with your choice of actions, Piricus. But I will not condemn you for them. What you did is a natural human response. Therefore, until I hear Maria's side of the story and can take a fair and unbiased standpoint on the issue, I will keep your identity a secret," he assured.

"I'm going to die from shock, paladin," I hissed.

"Would you prefer that I tell her straightaway?" he asked plainly.

"That would be a pain in the ass. Keep your mouth shut then, paladin," I retorted. "Let's go. This bitch said that we are going to get lost when dawn comes."

"Come here, Piricus," he said gently. "Let me heal your injuries."

"Aren't you a saint?" I scowled.

"Are you refusing? Because that's fine by me. That just means I will conserve more of my own energy," he said simply.

"Do it as we walk paladin and from a distance. I'll kick your ass all over again if you touch me," I snapped.

"That's fine," he replied and I heard him began to pray as we walked forward.

It took a while, but we made our way through the sands, following the stars the cat bitch had told us to. I stopped walking and rested over a flat piece of desert land.

"What's wrong, Piricus? I don't see anything," he said, glancing around.

"You wouldn't, moron, because it's underneath us. We're standing on the halls of the dead. There is a mountain of voices down there," I informed as I listened with my necromancer talent to the choir under the earth.

"Very well. Let's find a way down then. I don't know about you, but if we create a hole like last time, we'd get buried in an overflow of sand from up here like a waterfall," the paladin answered truthfully. "It won't be difficult, there's the entrance right there," he said, pointing to a small patch of flat sand. Upon closer inspection, it was just a sand-covered stone platform. You could see the stone stairs going down.

"Let's go then. This might actually work, paladin. I can use what's down here," I said with a wicked smile. Crypts were my playgrounds.

The paladin scowled. "We don't have a torch," he said, eyeing the darkness in distain. "I suppose that doesn't matter," he said with a sigh and without fail a ring of white light spawned around my body.

"I don't need this paladin, I can see in the dark," I assured flatly.

"I know. This is not merely to see by, this is protection. This is the holy fire I used against you earlier. Just put up with it for now," he sighed, seeing the look on my face.

"If we're going by the code of chivalry here, idiots first," I said bluntly, and gestured with sweeping arms to the hole in the ground.

He shook his head, then drew his sword and walked down below. This crypt was much like any other. Tombs lined the walls and dusty floors. We didn't see anything at first, I even checked the tombs for things of use, mainly bodies. The paladin growled as he watched, but didn't say anything. Bad news. There weren't any there.

"I don't know about you, paladin, but generally I expect to see bodies in the tombs," I protested.

"There they are, right there Piricus," the paladin hissed and without warning he launched several holy bolts into the blackness. I saw them too, skeletons, black as midnight. Luckily his bolts hit them and they crumbled easily enough with no help from me. We walked over them and I kicked one in frustration.

"What's wrong, Piricus?" the paladin asked as he watched me.

"These are pathetic, their bones are almost dust. One strike would fold these," I said sourly.

"I wouldn't concern yourself with it right now, chances are we'll find much worse," he said plainly.

We walked around several more corners and found nothing. I got a sinking feeling in my stomach as we passed several dusty stone walls. There was a clicking sound. The paladin heard it to.

"Move!" he shouted and ran forward as an enormous mass came flying out of the wall. I stopped and waited. A metal ball with enormous spikes crashed into the wall in front of my face, breaking the wall apart.

I heard another click and did a rolling dive forward, away from one more projectile that rolled on the ground behind me and another one that flew over my head. Similarly, the paladin was dodging flying balls of death ahead of me. We moved in segments, often times him forward, and me back. We cleared the narrow hall into one that intersected it. The paladin looked back at me as I managed to clear the last obstacle. He went to stay something, but stopped immediately. His sense of self-preservation must have existed after all. I didn't have to tell him that something was behind him.

There was a loud grunt, and I heard something heavy move. Through the darkness, I could make out an enormous monster that had bladed arms and a skeletal face. It looked just like Radament. It swiped at the paladin and he backed up. Fire flared from his aura and burned the creature, though it did little more than singe. He kept backing up, avoiding strikes, and parrying them when he was able. He backed up into a cluster of skeletons by the wall. They grabbed him on all sides and wrestled him to the ground. They made to strike him with swords, axes, and fists, whatever was available. White stars burst to life in the darkness, searing holes and breaking bones apart. He managed to clear them off of himself fast enough, but a strike from the mummified monster sent him back into the wall onto the pile of bones at his feet.

This was perfect timing, these would do just fine. I cast energy into the fallen skeletons underneath the paladin and the bones rattled and rolled before flinging him off of them with great force as the bones returned to life as the undead. The paladin growled, but then quickly put it aside as my skeletons started attacking the mummy that was hindering our progress. They managed to hack the legs off and the creature fell forward, were it was beheaded by the paladin with white fire raining down off his blade. He conjured another aura, this time with lightning. I hissed loudly as the lightning branched off into one of my minions and killed it.

"You're being counterproductive, paladin!" I snapped. "Don't make me use your bones as a substitute!"

He sighed. "Our gifts contrast like black and white. Mine will help us more than yours," he said stubbornly.

"No, mine just killed that thing just now," I said in protest, walking up to him. "In fact you should--" I started crossly. He shoved me hard, flinging me against one of the walls and jumped backwards himself. A black energy ball, much like Radament's flew past us as hard as it was to see in the darkness. It hit the dead mummy on the floor and resurrected it. Its legs and head reconnected to its body and it closed in on us from behind and three more lumbered into view in front.

I ordered my minions into attack mode at the three in front, while the paladin turned around to deal with the one in back. I flung several energy balls at the newcomers and managed to take one out. I quickly resurrected that one as another one of my skeletons to prevent it from rising again. It turned on its former allies and began to attack them like the mass of other skeletons I had created.

Working together with a little help from me, my army was able to take down the second one. I resurrected this one as a mage and it began throwing lightning balls at the last one. I heard a roar behind me and realized that the paladin had finished that one off for the second time. I used that one too and created another mage, one with fire. With that done, all of us turned to the last monster and blasted and or hacked with everything we had, taking it out. I raised one more skeletal mage and then summoned a golem. I stumbled a bit, before steadying myself. I was at my max, I couldn't summon anything else or I'd pass out.

The paladin took notice of this and our auras changed as we walked. Slowly, I could feel my mana coming back to me. I didn't say thank you, I hadn't yet and I never would.

We made our way into an open room, however this one held some new horrors. They looked like zombies, only their bodies had been encrusted with dust cakes and green mold. Their skin had yellowed from age and exposed the sickly tissue and bone beyond. At home, we didn't really have a special name for them, so we just called them cadavers. They lumbered towards us like grotesque gorillas, they were similar in the way they moved, both knuckles were dragging the ground. They were, however, very slow.

"I trust I don't have to tell you what happens when these things die?" the paladin asked, looking them over with disgust.

"You just wasted breath on that sentence," I told him crisply and we both began blasting away at the monsters. We got in several good strikes and killed most of them. Sure enough, green clouds of poisonous gas were expelled into the air. My skeletons engaged themselves in battle with a group of the monsters and I didn't pay them much mind. I heard some crunching and knew that I was losing a few of them, but that was of little consequence.

One of the rotting monsters had reached me and swung a disgusting fist. I moved aside easily, grabbed its arm and cut it cleanly off. Gas began expelling from the wound, but even when I breathed a little of it in, the poison didn't bother me. I reached around from behind and raked my dagger across the decaying monster's throat, cleaving the dead tissue with ease. I backed away from the corpse and let the gas dissipate into nothing.

When I looked over, the paladin had finished his own battles and was making his way over to me. He walked by a wall, and I noticed movement. Something slid down through a sarcophagus on the wall and grabbed him from behind. It lifted him into the air in a bear hug. He couldn't lash out with his sword or with a holy bolt, but he did release another one of those ethereal hammers. The spirit mallet hammered the creature repeatedly until it dropped the paladin and he was able to finish it off.

Another cadaver slid in from behind the last one. This time, the paladin was facing forward, he killed it with white fire flowing from his sword.

"Smash the sarcophagus, paladin," I said snidely, as if it were the most logical thing in the world.

The paladin didn't waste any time, he slammed his sword into the object repeatedly, smashing the stone and more cadavers as they made to pass through. Being in such close quarters with the dying monsters meant he breathed in some gas, but I saw his green aura and knew he was purging the poison. When the gas had settled I walked over and examined the wreckage. I put my ear to the wall and listened.

"What do you hear?" the paladin asked me, eyeing the debris uneasily.

"Nothing. I have an idea," I announced, and grabbed some pieces of the broken sarcophagus, pulling them away from the wall. Sure enough, there was a large hole there, leading into the blackness beyond.

I snapped my fingers and several of my skeletons came forward obediently. I interlocked my fingers and pointed downwards. They did what I wanted them to, they grabbed hands and interlocked in a chain. I ordered the golem up behind them.

The paladin eyed with distain. "What are they doing?" he asked wearily.

"Would you like to fall to your death, paladin?" I said simply as I watched them disappear into the blackness. I heard their bones creak and crunch, and then all was still. The golem took position in front as I commanded. I walked up to the edge and peered down. Sure enough, there was a large hole there, opening into an enormous dome of tombs. I couldn't really make out the bottom, but I knew it was there.

The paladin came up to my side and hissed loudly. "No, I won't do it," he said bluntly.

"Then stay up here and find your own way down," I said sharply. "You need to go first, or I will be tempted to drop you when I get down there," I said rudely.

"This is revolting," he griped, before taking a deep breath, walking past the golem and putting his foot down on the shoulders of the first skeleton, the first rung in the undead rope, held in place by the enormous strength of my golem. He climbed down a good ways, and then I followed him. The bones creaked and crunched, and my skeletons watched us with lifeless eye sockets as we climbed down them. I could sense the bottom and I dropped down, next to the paladin, whom was brushing himself off like he was covered in leeches.

He said nothing as I laughed at him. I snapped my fingers and then one by one, the skeletons began to climb down, hanging by tips of fingers to crevices me and the paladin wouldn't have been able to hold on to. I didn't take long until they were all down on the ground with us. I released my hold on the golem and I heard it meld to mush way up in the distance.

"Now what?" the paladin said, looking around.

"Here that, paladin," I said pointing in front of us. "No, of course you don't," I said snidely. "Beyond that door is our undead cat bitch. I can hear the weird undead kitty growls," I said sarcastically. "And yes, I know what an undead cat sounds like," I laughed, eyeing his expression.

"Cloudyous would string you up by your ears if he knew you were practicing on animals like that," the paladin said bluntly, before readying himself and his sword.

I snapped my fingers and my skeletons rushed the door, breaking it down and rushing into the room. I heard the enraged roar both physically and mentally. I saw a flash of red as me and the paladin raced into the room. I heard a series of loud crunching sounds and could only make out a blur as my skeletons died. I looked around as fast as I could.

There were sarcophaguses lining every wall, spitting out undead every few seconds. Then, in the center of the room was a large altar. There was a saber cat tied to it, though she had sustained grizzly injuries and wasn't moving. She was probably dead. There, next to her was a glimmering golden cube with runes and swirls all over it. That was what we needed.

I heard another roar and then the red blur jumped at me. I couldn't dodge it was so fast. I took a swing, and sliced air as the creature quickly backed up. It refolded and hit me this time, sending me into the air with long, bleeding scratches in the arm I had used to block with. Before I could land, it hit me again with something long and whip-like. I realized that this blur was the cat creature and that she had hit me with her tail. I landed hard and on my bad shoulder as it stepped on me and made to bite my face.

A white ball hit the creature broadside and knocked her off me, but that was all the assistance the paladin could give me before the cadavers started swarming him. I got back to my feet, and focused. I could vaguely make out the limbs on the creature as it moved. Time for a curse. It didn't have to be dead on, just in the general vicinity. I figured in front of me would be the best place to put it. I threw a curse in front of me, my decrepifiy. RubyClaw hit this and stumbled. Her undead legs began to wobble, and she staggered, giving me time to land a strike in her shoulder. It didn't do much good because her flesh was already rotting away. She got a strange look on her decaying face, and then straightened herself up like nothing was wrong. She just pulled through my curse.

I tried another one. Iron Maiden. Like before, she seemed unfazed. She hit me time after time, and didn't so much as put a scratch on herself. One of the cadavers went flying in our direction and I heard the paladin give a battle yell. I looked over briefly and couldn't see him, he was that overcrowded. Though, the corpse at my feet did give me something to work with. I sent energy into it and it exploded, catching the undead she-cat full on. It blasted off one of her legs, but even this didn't stop her. She used her tail as an extra limb and continued on the assault.

There had to be something I could do. I turned back to the twisting nether. I just randomly pulled some spirit from there, I had no time to be picky. I pulled it and channeled it into her mind. That would hopefully confuse her, the best curse I could think to try at the moment. Sure enough, she began pawing and scratching at her rotting head and shaking violently like she was trying to shake something off. She stumbled, then roared. She lashed out at me, but missed by a mile, then turned and lashed out at one of the cadavers near her. She kept turning wildly around, striking at anything that came too close. I watched her, I checked for a pattern in the madness and when I found one, I timed it perfectly. I jumped onto her back brought my dagger down into her head with both hands. Old, brown blood oozed out of the wound and she fell over dead.

I turned, to my displeasure, to actually help the paladin. If he died, all these creatures would turn on me. I raced to the nearest sarcophagus and kicked it in, stabbing an emerging cadaver in the face and rendering it lifeless. I raced through the masses to the next one, dodging strikes and cutting off limbs where they reached out for me. I destroyed another one, but the other two were behind the paladin and that massive cloud of undead.

"I've had enough of this madness! Piricus wherever you are, get down!" he thundered.

I had no idea what he was going to do, so I followed his advice and hit the floor. A streak of lightning rained down from nowhere, blasting all the undead backwards. Holy bolts started flying everywhere, killing all the undead. They were still buzzing around the room and smashed into the walls all around, including the two remaining sarcophaguses. The holy bolts even dispelled the poisonous gas from the corpses. In a few moments, everything was still.

The paladin stepped through the smoke. He wore a sour expression as he fanned the tendrils of smoke away from his face. His armor was dented in several places and he was limping, but other than that, he looked okay. He looked at me and my bleeding arm.

"I'm fine, paladin," I hissed before he could say anything.

He didn't waste another word on me; he raced to the altar, and untied the she- cat. He checked her injuries over then sighed.

"She's dead," I observed flatly. "At least get the cube so we can get out of here. Maybe we can wait until nightfall and retrace the stars," I scowled.

The paladin picked up the cube and it started to glow. He opened it without saying anything. He wrinkled his nose and turned away.

"What's in there, paladin?" I asked bluntly.

"This cat's heart and lungs," he answered truthfully. "Now I get it," he said quietly. "When Deckard Cain was telling me about this cube, he said that it can transmute things. That must have been what RubyClaw was trying to do. She was trying to use Nira's organs to bring herself back to life."

"Makes sense. Well, cheer up paladin. This is not a total loss. I can bring her back, at least for a little while. She'll just look a little funny," I said sarcastically.

He snorted. "We'd be better off not going back at all if you do that." He looked at the box ruefully, then at our would be rescue.

"That thing is supposed to make a Horadric staff whole?" I asked looking it over skeptically.

"That's it!" The paladin exclaimed suddenly. He grabbed the dead she-cat's hand and placed it in the cube. He closed the lid as best he was able. He read the runes on the side of the cube. The cube started to glow, until light blinded us. I heard someone suck in a deep breath. When I could see, the she-cat had somehow been revived. Her chest was whole, though she maintained some gruesome injuries.

She looked at us. "Varra dsill?"

"Great. She doesn't speak common. She's still useless," I sneered.

She looked at me then coughed. "Sorry. I didn't realize what language you were speaking. What happened?" she asked as she looked around wildly at the carnage.

"RubyClaw cut out your organs. We used the horadric cube to put you back together," the paladin informed.

The saber cat shut her eyes and took a deep breath. "I knew I was dead."

"Where'd you go, heaven?" I scowled.

"I don't remember to be honest, now that I'm back here," she insisted.

"That's pointless right now, Piricus," he sighed. "Your name is Nira, isn't it?" the paladin asked her.

"Yes. Did Ketan send you?" she answered, drawing conclusions.

"Yes he did. He took some of our friends hostage. He poisoned them. We don't have much time left. He said if we brought you back he'd give us the antidote and let us leave," the paladin relayed. "He said you would lead us back."

"And so I will. You saved my life. Let us leave here immediately," she said and struggled to get up.

"Let me help you," the paladin said kindly. He leaned over here, and began chanting. She eyed him, mistrusting, but when she saw some of her injuries heal, she nodded.

"I am ready to leave," she assured.

"So are we. We're more than ready. Though it's not going to matter much, your boss is going to kill us when we get back," I growled.

"He will not. We Frasa, or saber cats in your tongue, always honor our word. It is humans that cannot be trusted. Though, I see that you may be an exception. You were willing to risk everything for your pride-mates," she said with admiration.

"They don't mean anything. It's this that's important. I'll hang onto it paladin, otherwise something will happen to it," I said bluntly and grabbed the cube from him before he could protest.

The she-cat looked me over and snorted. "There's one of you in every pride," she said simply.

"How are we getting out of here?" the paladin asked, looking around.

"There is a magical circle in the next room. They belonged to those your people call the Horadric mages. They will take us to a safe point within the desert, where I shall lead you back from," she assured.

We cleared the next corner, and there was another waypoint. I snorted. These things must be all over Sanctuary. We stepped onto the circle, and the blue fire flared up.

"Both of you, touch me. If you do not, you will remain here, seeing as how you've yet to venture to that part of the desert or that circle," she instructed.

She shouted as something grabbed her from behind. I saw it and blasted the cadaver with my good arm. It fell to the earth smoking and a cloud of gas spewed into the air. The paladin stepped between her and the corpse.

"One more for good measure," I snapped. "Let's go," I demanded before reluctantly placing my hand on the she-cat's shoulder.

There was a familiar wave of motion and when we looked next, we were out in the middle of a foreign desert.

"Follow me," she instructed simply. She knew where she was going, and before long, we were back before their leader.

The paladin got down on his knees in respect; I just stood there with my arms crossed. The she-cat from before hurried up to us.

"Nira! Hafa sau inda!" she said excitedly, and then she and the rescued she-cat rubbed faces.

"Ketan!" the rescued one said brightly as she ran up and nuzzled him, a gesture the male-cat returned.

The she-cat that had given us our assignment turned to the male, and he said something. She turned to us and translated.

"My master is pleased. You have upheld your end of the deal. Now it is our turn. We shall administer the antidote to your friends, and then you shall be allowed to leave peacefully as promised," she assured.

"Thank you," the paladin said respectfully as several she-cats came up to the others were they lie, still unconscious in the nets. They removed the wire coverings and applied a pink liquid, one drop, under the tongues of all the rest of our party. It didn't take them long to wake up.

"Wha' happened?" the barbarian asked as he looked around himself. He snarled and sprung to the ready when he saw where we were.

"Calm down, Alminus. They're not going to hurt us," the paladin assured.

"Then why they capture us?" the sorcerer asked, returning to consciousness in time to hear that remark.

"They wanted our help," the paladin informed.

"They could have just asked," the warrior hissed as he rolled onto his side.

"That wouldn't have mattered. We would have declined. And it's not a saber-cat's way to ask for help. Long story short, they captured us and held for ransom while you two," the assassin hissed, looking at me, "did whatever it was they asked for."

"It's a good thing we had Scorpious there. Otherwise we all would have died," the warrior snarled at me.

"I got what I came for. That's what matters," I said bluntly, holding out the Horadric cube for him to see.

"Is that the Horadric cube?" the rogue asked, looking it over.

"What do you think, little girl? You have eyes," I shot back.

"Don't listen to him. My guess is that he just went through a lot, so he's cranky," the amazon said as she looked me over. "You got hurt."

"Both of you did," said our mercenary.

"A matter of little consequence. Nothing that we can't live through," the paladin assured.

"What happened to your shield, Scorpious?" the amazon asked, noting its absence.

"Had a little bit of a scuffle with something that wanted to kill me," he said vaguely, though truthfully.

The assassin looked me over nastily. "Three guesses what."

"He's not that stupid," the amazon said, following her gaze.

"That we agree on, amazon," I said bluntly.

"I'm fine, Maria," he promised.

"Arja!" the she-cat we rescued shouted fearfully as the three wolves walked over.

"They won't hurt you," the amazon soothed, "not if you don't attack us first."

"No one will attack you," the first she-cat guaranteed. "In fact, we might help you. Where are you going?" she asked.

"Not sure," the rogue admitted.

"Wait," the amazon said suddenly and closed her eyes. "I see a place under the sand, earthy, like a burrow, that's our next step," she said without opening them.

"Those that burrow are most often Dragil. A burrow that big must belong to Gasvir, their queen. The place you seek is in the Herda Fen, your kind call it the Far Oasis. If your guide knows it, then he can take you there. If not, we shall give you a map," she offered.

"I will take them, I know the way," our mercenary explained.

"What's a dragil?" the rogue asked curiously.

"I know not how to explain in your tongue. They are creatures, with many legs and claws on their mouths," the first she-cat said, struggling for words.

"Monsters in other words," the barbarian growled.

"Did you expect anything different, dimwit?" I asked him flatly.

"No. It makes sense with wha' were goin' after," he answered.

"Then we will help you in this regard, there is an oasis to the east of here, on the way to the Herda Fen. We get our water there, but you are welcome to stop by. Go now, this is all we can offer you," the she-cat said, though not harsh.

"Thank you for saving me," the rescued one said to us, "I will never forget."

"Come my friends," our mercenary said uneasily eyeing the saber cats. "We still have much ground to cover."


	9. Chapter 9

She that dwells beneath the earth

Chyemme

We walked along carefully, once we had left the sight of the saber cats. True enough, I didn't sense any of them near us and we hadn't encountered any. It looked like the demons really had kept their word. Speaking of that whole mess, everyone was full of questions, including myself. The knowledge that I had been out and my life had ridden on the backs of my friends greatly disturbed me. I wasn't there to fight beside them for my own life. I had to trust in someone else. Moreover, I had to trust Piricus.

I'm not stupid, and it didn't take me long to deduce a strange feeling between Scorpious and Piricus. They were oddly quiet about their teamwork, and much to our displeasure quiet about pretty much everything else. My guess was that something big went down between them, but I had no proof, just a hunch, so I kept my mouth shut. At any rate, we were alive, and as luck would have it, Piricus and Scorpious had managed to snag the Horadric Cube while they were in the Halls of the Dead. Scorpious had, however, told us the interesting part of their exploits when they had used the power of the cube to make that saber-cat whole again. Incredible, the power of the ancient magi. Speaking of magi, Sovellis had a keen interest in the cube and was in the process of wrestling it away from Piricus.

"Give here. Let look," Sovellis demanded and reached for the glimmering box Piricus was carrying.

"Not on your life, sorcerer. You'll mess something up and fry us all to pieces. I suppose that would be fine in the case of everyone else, but as for me, I'm not skilled enough yet to put my own pieces back together," Piricus said flatly.

"If you were, you'd be inhuman," Ryelass growled.

"You mean he ain't already? Nobody is as cold as 'e is," Alminus said in distain.

"Ice cold, and rock soild. I'm not the paladin. I'm not made to break easy," Piricus said with a snide smile. "Sorcerer, if you don't stop I'll rot off your arm," Piricus hissed and gave the cube a firm tug out of Sovellis' grasp.

"If I don't trust anyone with the cube, it would be you, Piricus. The last thing we need is for that thing to become corrupted with death magic," Maria said flatly.

"Is magic really that easy to taint?" Ahmad asked, eyeing the glimmering box uneasily.

"It is if you're not careful," Maria said gravely.

"I don't see what he could use the cube for. It just puts things back together," I admitted.

"That is the function, yes, but the cube in itself is an immensely powerful object. Can't you feel it from where you are?" Maria asked skeptically.

"I thought the powers of the Horadrim were pure? Weren't they the ones that sealed away the prime evils?" Laurella asked, eyeing the cube with curiosity.

"Every magic can be corrupted," Maria said seriously. "Ancient ones especially."

"For once, that was something intelligent, assassin. It's true Rogue. You want to talk about so called 'pure' magic gone corrupt, look at the paladins," Piricus sneered.

"Paladins aren't bad," Laurella countered. "Scorpious and Fara are nice."  
"Wonderful logic, little girl. You met two out of zillions and assume they are wonderful. Trust me, rogue, you're lucky this moron with us only spouts garbage and doesn't back it up. I'm beginning to think he's actually a wuss in addition to being weak. Most of his so called compatriots would have hacked you into pieces and called you an infidel," Piricus sneered.

"You're just saying that," Ryelass growled.

"Well, maybe not the rogue," Piricus corrected, "she believes in their so called God. Now, the amazon here would be a different story," he said, looking to me apathetically.

"Me?" I asked with a snort.

"Yes you, amazon. You're polytheistic, and that is unacceptable to a paladin. Isn't that right, paladin? The amazon here is going to hell because she doesn't worship one God?" Piricus said snidely.

Scorpious didn't even turn around. "Nowhere have I ever said such a thing and nor do I believe it. I do not believe Chyemme is correct in her religion, but I hardly believe she is going to hell," he answered simply.

"There you have it. You do not agree with him, amazon, so you are not correct. You and the druid would be right there next to me on a paladin's to-do list," Piricus said bluntly.

"I'd hope they get you first," Ryelass laughed, "that would give Chyemme and Cloudyous time to get away."

Alminus snorted and laughed too along with Laurella. I managed a small smile of my own. Of course, I would never run away and leave Piricus to fend for himself if he needed me.

"Got it!" Sovellis exclaimed in triumph and snagged the Horadric cube while Piricus was preoccupied.

Piricus got a nasty look on his face and actually reached for his dagger, but I stepped in-between them and nudged him with my elbow. "Play nice. Share," I teased.

Piricus scowled and shoved me hard, though by this time Sovellis was a good ways away from him.

The dark-skinned mage ran his hands over the interlocking swirls and runes on the object and I saw the hair on his arms stand on end. He touched the lid and without warning, a bright spark of lightning rippled across the top. He dropped it in surprise and everyone jumped.

"Wha' jus' happened?" Alminus asked in concern.

Moments passed, and nothing happened, there wasn't even a wisp of smoke. Sovellis turned his hands over, checking them.

"Are you hurt, Sovellis?" I asked in worry.

"No. I fine. It strange. I never feel magic this strong," he said, though calmly. Once he assured himself he was alright, he leaned over and picked the cube up once more.

"Are you sure that is a good idea, my friend?" Ahmad asked wearily. "What happened just now could have been a warning."

"I agree with Ahmad," Scorpious said gently. "Sovellis, you should let someone else carry it."

"Why did it spark like that?" Laurella asked.

"It reacted with Sovellis' natural magic," Maria informed.

"Was it dangerous?" I asked.

"I don't know. It was too brief to tell. Sovellis, I will carry the cube," Maria said authoritatively.

"Why you?" Ryelass asked.

"Because I am not a mage of any kind and my skills make me immune to such effects most of the time," she answered simply.

"Most of the time?" Piricus snickered. "What's wrong assassin? Don't tell me you're actually vulnerable to some things."

"It is fact of life I don't like, but I'm only human. Though, to my credit, I've defeated every single mage I've come up against, albeit sometimes I had help," she admitted.

"I gathered that, otherwise your pathetic ass wouldn't be here," Piricus said rudely.

"I bet if she went after you, you wouldn't think she's so pathetic," Ryelass said with a laugh.

"I've seen better," Piricus said with a mocking grin.

"Not likely," Maria said plainly. "You've not seen anything yet."

"Ooh. I have chills," Piricus said sarcastically.

"Vendra say you would if she here. She say she freeze toes together," Sovellis said with a laugh.

"You could do that too, couldn't you Sovellis? Give him frostbite so bad he falls over?" Ryelass asked eagerly.

"He may get in a strike, but I promise you, my counterstrike would be numerously worse and linger like nothing else," Piricus promised.

"The cube," Maria reminded Sovellis and held out her hands.

I expected Sovellis to look insulted or to protest, but he did as she asked.

"You seem experienced in the ways of magical artifacts," Ahmad said as he eyed Maria.

"It's my lifeblood," she said simply. "Have to know how they work to disable them."

"And yet, you are not a mage," Ahmad replied.

"No. And I will never be one even if God himself came down and handed me all the powers in Sanctuary," she admitted.

"You speak as if you despise them," Ahmad continued.

"Maria is a mage slayer," Laurella said without thinking.

My assassin friend gave her a reproachful glare as Ahmad stared at her in shock.

"An assassin? I've heard the tales of some of the mage clans," he said uneasily.

"Assassin, bitch, same thing," Piricus said nonchalantly from beside me.

"You are a mage, I can see why you do not get along," Ahmad admitted.

"It should make no difference if I were a drunkard in a tavern. I paid you to do a job, so don't question me, just do it," Maria said flatly.

"I meant you no disrespect," Ahmad apologized.

"He may be smarter than he looks, assassin. I would want to know who my boss is and if by their nature they were going to get me killed," Piricus laughed.

"We're out in the desert filled with demons and monsters. He could die anyway," Ryelass pointed out.

"Ain't jus' 'im. We all could. We all gotta be on guard," Alminus added.

"Very optimistic barbarian," Piricus laughed.

"I agree with Alminus. We need to be careful," Scorpious agreed.

"You say that every five minutes, Paladin, you sound like a parrot," Piricus said rudely.

"It's true," I remarked. No sooner did I speak the words, than did Ahmad suddenly disappear through the ground into the sand beneath his feet. Laurella and Alminus stepped down unwittingly right after him and without time to even yell, they disappeared too.

"Quicksand!" Ryelass yelled in shock and ran after them.

"Stop, you'll fall in," Maria warned. "We have no idea where it starts; we need to stay where we are."

"Those are my friends! We have to do something!" Ryelass demanded, though he did fall short.

"Scorpious, we need to act!" I shouted.

"Amazon, you have no idea how far under they are or where they went. Jumping in after them would be stupid," Piricus said bluntly.

"I can find them if someone can help me get them out!" I said and immediately focused my inner sight. I held my breath. They were pretty far down already and sinking further each moment. I could also tell that they were running out of breath. I could see them struggling in my mind.

Bright stars lit the area over where they had fallen, three in separate locations.

"How far down?" Maria asked quickly.

"Five feet as of a second ago," I answered swiftly.

"Damn! That far?! Do something!" Ryelass demanded.

"Stand back. I try!" Sovellis said urgently.

"The sand starts about three feet from you," I warned.

"Very well," he said and stopped just short.

He closed his eyes and raised his hands. I could see him struggling greatly, his whole body was shaking and his muscles were twitching. I could feel energy coming from him, but I didn't know where it was going.

Then, out of the sand under one of my stars, came a fair hand. The hand was soon followed by Laurella's body as she was magically hoisted into the air, over the sand and put down at Sovellis' feet.

She coughed and sputtered, and I ran to her. I laid her down and shoved hard on her stomach. She heaved heavily, spitting sand. Her breath was ragged, and she began choking.

"Move," Maria demanded quickly.

I moved aside and Maria dragged Laurella to her feet and grabbed her from behind. She gave a hard shove on her abdomen, then pressed two fingers into her navel and ran them up the middle of her chest into the middle of her throat, putting steady pressure.

Laurella vomited and tossed up about three inches of sand before shaking and opening her eyes. She fell to her knees, coughing, but conscious.

I turned my attention back to Sovellis, he was struggling to stand, but he didn't break his spell. Ahmad suddenly surfaced, hanging limply in the air as he was brought back to safety. Maria took him and repeated her motions.

Sovellis struggled hard and fell to his knees. I saw Alminus' large hand break sand, but then it fell under again.

"ALMINUS!" Ryelass cried frantically.

"He too big. I not strong enough," Sovellis panted, out of breath.

"I'll help you, I'll lend you some of my energy," I offered hastily and ran over to him.

"It still not enough," he gasped.

"I'll help too! Hurry damn it before it's too late!" Ryelass shouted and raced up to us. Ryelass and I grabbed onto Sovellis' hands on opposite sides. I felt some of my mental energy go out of me as the mage stood up. Suddenly, it was like I was trying to lift a house with my mind. I grunted and so did Ryelass. I felt shaky, so I could only imagine what Sovellis was feeling.

Much to my relief, it seemed to be working. Alminus' body appeared from the ground and together the three of us brought him to safety.

I fell onto my knees and so did Ryelass, Sovellis collapsed completely.

Maria tended to Alminus, then pulled three white vials out of her bag. She handed one to me and one to Ryelass, and then leaned over Sovellis and helped him drink his.

Miraculously, I felt strength back in my limbs. Soon, all three of us were back on our feet.

"What were those that you gave us?" Ryelass asked, looking at his empty vial.

"Stamina potions," Maria said simply.

"It good thing. If I no have, I no go," Sovellis admitted in earnest.

"What happened?" Ahmad asked, looking around wildly.

"You fell into a pit of quicksand moron, just after the stupid paladin just told you to be careful. Ironic, actually," Piricus said snidely.

"I remember going under and I thought I was going to die. How'd you get us out?" Laurella asked shakily.

"The sorcerer here is telekinetic," Piricus said bluntly.

"Doesn't that take a lot of power?" I asked.

"Yes. That not easy thing I do. Take long time to learn," Sovellis explained.

"Well ya learned yur lesson well n' thanks ter that I owe ya my life," Alminus said gratefully.

"You would do same for me," Sovellis said dismissively.

"I'll find a way ter pay ya back, I promise," Alminus promised.

"It not necessary," Sovellis assured.

"All tha same," Alminus vowed.

"Are you guys alright?" I asked, looking at them.

"I'm fine now, thanks to you all," Laurella assured.

Ahmad stood up and brushed the thick layer of sand off of his clothes and armor. "I am ready to continue, this will not stop me," he reassured.

"With the amount we paid you the only thing that should stop you is death," Piricus said bluntly. "Well, I guess death wouldn't stop you entirely. I could make use of you," Piricus said with a sadistic smile.

Ahmad gave him a repulsed look, before turning to face front. "This presents a problem I'm not sure how to get around," he admitted. "I do not know how far this quicksand extends. It could go on for miles."

"It's deep though?" Maria asked.

"Yes," I informed.

"Then we walk over it, though it's going to demand more from Sovellis and Ryelass," Maria said simply.

"Me? What can I do?" Ryelass asked skeptically.

"Your little whim to learn a spell of fire magic might actually be useful. Sand when it gets heated turns into—" Maria began.

"Glass," I finished for her. "And glass is solid."

"But, isn't glass brittle? Won't we break it?" Laurella asked skeptically.

"Not if we heat it deep enough," Ryelass said in realization.

"Are you two okay to do this?" I asked in concern.

"I fine," Sovellis promised.

"Me too. Come on Sovellis, let's do this," Ryelass assured and together the two of them stepped up to the edge of the sand. Both chanted spells and fire flew from their hands in columns. They aimed directly for the ground and as expected, the heat and force was enough to blast the sand smooth. They walked forward onto the new glass and continued to expand our path across it for another ten feet.

"It stops there," I said, checking it psychically.

"It's safe," Ryelass assured from the other side, tapping it with his foot for reassurance.

"You're sure?" Ahmad asked uncertainly.

"Move dumbass, he wouldn't be over there if he wasn't sure," Piricus said bluntly and walked onto the polished surface and across with no difficulty.

As soon as all of us were across, we continued on our way. The desert wind actually picked up a tone of humidity and as the heat flickered off the ground I saw a blur of green.

"Do you guys see that? Looks like trees," Laurella pointed out.

"That's because they are. Welcome to the Far Oasis," Ahmad said, gesturing around himself.

"We should stock up on water if there is some ahead," Scorpious suggested.

"A good idea," Maria affirmed.

We walked for a little while and the oasis came into focus, there were some tall palm trees and patches of actual grass. I could see a pool of water in the center. We walked over to it, and I wrinkled my nose. The water was stagnant.

"We can't drink this," Ryelass said simply.

"Not so fast," Scorpious said with a smile. "I can attempt to purify it."

"That sounds like a job for the druid. You're telling me you can make this muck fresh?" Piricus asked skeptically.

"I said that I'd try," Scorpious corrected.

"Well, tha's better than nothin'," Alminus said plainly.

"Go ahead, Scorpious," I affirmed.

He nodded and walked over to the water's edge. He knelt down and placed the tip of his blessed sword in the water. He began chanting. I saw a thousand flares from my inner sigh about a second too late. Without warning, a mass of small shapes can darting out of the water in a cloud so thick it obscured the sun.

These masses batted my exposed skin and I felt a pinching sensation. I looked over and could vaguely make out what looked like a gigantic grasshopper latched onto my arm and taking bites out of it. Locusts. They had been dormant on the lakebed. I flailed wildly, lashing out at it, I shoved it off but ten more landed on my hand and started biting on it. I swung my shield but they swarmed around it and under it. I dropped it as the force of the mass overpowered me. It was all I could do to stay upright.

I tried to yell out for the others, but my voice was drown out by the hum of wings and the buzz of the frenzied locusts. A ring of fire erupted from around my waist and lashed out at my attackers that were now all over my body like a coating of dirt. Fire swarmed into their bodies, but to my horror, they seemed to absorb the heat and grow bigger. They had almost reached the size of a rat when Scorpious stopped his aura and replaced it with another one. Lightning sparked through the area, but this didn't stop them either, it seemed to energize them more. I tucked my exposed arms into my chest and dropped to my knees on the ground, pulling my armorless upper legs into my body for protection as the locusts continued biting at me. If someone didn't do something quick, they were going to eat me alive.

Lightning became replaced by frost as snowflakes swirled from all around me off of Scorpious' aura. I could immediately see the difference. The locusts slowed and ice coated their wings. I could see ice bolts shred through the area. One soared over my head. The ice continued to coat the insects' wings until at last all of them fell limply to the ground. I stood up immediately and started stomping down hard on everything around me, crunching my stiff assailants beneath my feet. Looking around I was surprised at how many there were. There had to be thousands of them.

"Stand back," Sovellis said in distain from my right. He pulled ice energy around himself, then cast it outward in a ring, solidifying the insects, then blasting them apart until there were nothing but chips of ice everywhere.

Looking around I could see the others had been battered too. Piricus and Sovellis looked fine; my guess is that they had conjured shields around themselves. I assessed the damage to my own body, I hurt terribly. Much to my dismay, I seemed to have gotten the worst of it in the group.

"Amazon, if you'd have lost anymore flesh the only thing left of you would be your bones, maybe not even that," Piricus said bluntly, looking me over.

"My god, he's right. Chyemme you look terrible," Ryelass said in concern as he made his way over.

"Drink a healing potion," Maria said, tossing one to me. "We don't have time to stop."

I noticed that she had some bug bites of her own.

Ahmad scowled and pulled a frozen locust off of his helmet. "Truly fate doesn't want us here."

"Fate has nothing to do with it. Keep moving," Piricus said flatly and waved his hands onward impatiently.

"I'm going," Ahmad hissed as Ryelass helped me to my feet. I drank the potion and felt some of my wounds dry up and crust into scabs, but I could still feel the little teeth on my skin. I shivered and decided it would help to walk it off.

"Where exactly r' we goin?" Alminus asked as we walked further into the lush green.

"We walk until we find a clue. I have no knowledge of a den of beasts," Ahmad admitted, "I only know the landscape."

"It's too bad Cloudyous isn't here. He could find this place in no time," Laurella remarked.

"Can't you and the amazon use that psychic gift of yours and find this place?" Piricus asked impatiently.

"No need, Ahmad look--!" I shouted swiftly, but I was too late. An enormous creature burst out of the ground in a tunnel of dirt. It had antennae, two faceted black eyes and more importantly, two enormous pincers. It grabbed Ahmad's leg between them and it nearly crushed his armor. The creature made to drag him under, but Laurella notched her bow and shot a flaming arrow into the center of the creature's head. It shrieked in a high-pitched clicking noise and fell limp, half in, half out of the earth.

Ahmad drew his halberd and immediately readied himself. I saw movement under the earth tunneling towards us, but Ahmad was ready. He thrust his spear into the ground and blood fountained into the air, though it was a strange black-green color. There was another loud shriek, suggestive that Ahmad had killed another creature. Soon, they were bursting from the ground all around us. A few managed to pull their chubby bodies onto the sand. They had a thick, grub-like trunk and six spindly, hairy legs.

A pair pincers snapped for my legs. I jumped on top of them when they closed and kicked the creature in the face. I drew my crystal sword when it stumbled and sliced its head off.

Alminus had just simply cleaved one in half with his enormous axe. Ryelass' sword was sparking lightning into his opponent, though it appeared to be doing little good. The girth of the creature seemed to be absorbing the shock. He hacked and slashed, though he did little more than cut blubber. He locked his sword on a pincer and managed to slice through it, but not before the other one caught on his leg. It plunged deep into his thigh. I could smell the flesh burning and I realized with a sinking feeling that these creatures were excreting and acid-like venom.

Ryelass cried out in pain, then he suddenly went stiff. The creature made to finish him, but Scorpious jumped onto its back and ran it through. I could tell one had taken a bite at him too. There were acid holes in one of his greaves. He quickly took to chanting over Ryelass, and became so absorbed in that three monsters sprouted up around him.

I grabbed a javelin off my back and hurled it into the side of one, running it through. It stumbled, then changed course for me. It moved surprisingly fast for something so big. It was on me in no time. I used another javelin to stab it in the eye. It flailed, and then before I could finish it, it tunneled back into the sand.

Maria had a similar plan. She hurled a knife into one eye of a creature, then the other. Blinded and thrashing, she moved in for the kill. Sovellis cast a bolt of ice that impaled the remaining creature through the side of the head.

All was still after that. Or so we thought. The biggest worm I had ever seen suddenly rocketed out of the ground and snagged Sovellis' boot. He blasted it in the face with fire, but the creature blinked it off. The mage gave a shout of pain and surprise before the creature dragged him under.

"Sovellis!" I cried and raced to the hole. Sure enough, with something that big, I could easily fit down.

"Amazon are you crazy?" Piricus asked bluntly as he saw what I was about to do.

"Stay up here then. I'm going after him," I said and jumped down the chute. The earth was fresh and muddy so I skidded all the way down to the bottom. I readied a javelin and plunged it into the back of the creature I landed on. I looked up immediately, seeing something large. I readied my javelin, but hastily jumped aside when I heard Alminus' hearty voice call,

"Watch out below!" He landed like an elephant, squashing juice out of the bug cushion.

I turned around and stabbed an oncoming maggot in the mouth, killing it. Several moments passed and I felt the others come down the tunnel behind me. I saw a flash of green light and realized that even Piricus had come down. His poisonous energy was eating holes through his assailant.

"What the hell?" Ryelass yelped as ice suddenly spread over the floor and started coating out boots with frost. We were beginning to get frozen in place. A chill washed over me and when I looked up, I found an enormous worm that took up and entire cavern and was emitting an icy mist from its underside.

The worm with Sovellis was only a few feet away from it.

"That must be the female!" Ryelass called, taking the sight in.

"What makes you so sure?" Laurella called.

"Because only females would lay these," Piricus said with a snort and gestured to the cavern at large we had entered. There were pulsating puddles of goo with sickly looking gel going into them from veins on the surface.

"Eggs!" I shouted in surprise.

"I'm not a druid, but I think those need to go first!" Piricus insisted.

"He's right. The first thing those animals are going to do is try to feed!" Maria shouted.

"What about Sovellis?!" I shouted. The large creature, presumably male, was presenting him to the female. I didn't wait for a response, I launched a javelin and it the creature in the side. Blood started to leak out, but the blood was soon replaced by ice as my javelin froze over and broke.

I might as well have punched the creature for all the good that did. I noted with urgency that Sovellis was starting to become stiff as the ice coated his skin.

"Guys! The wall!" Laurella shouted in worry. Without fail, ten fully grown sand maggots burst through the wall and started spitting poison.

We were trapped with little room to move in and even less room to dodge. What saved us was surprising. White bones rocketed out in front of all of us, and I could hear the acid hit the outside. I knew the bones wouldn't hold long. My guess was that the only reason Piricus had done this in the first place was because he was in front of us.

"Tha eggs!" Alminus roared. Goo suddenly rained down everywhere and with it, hatchling maggots, pincers clicking. We were swarmed, we had nowhere to go. We were forced back to back just as Piricus' shield gave out. Acid splashed onto his armor and he hastily threw it off, leaving only his shirt.

Scorpious sacrificed one of his gauntlets. He took it off and tossed it into the path of an oncoming barrage of acid.

Me and Laurella started tossing and firing into the masses, me with lightning, her with fire. We managed to kill some of the hatchlings, but more seemed to take their place. There had to be hundreds of them.

Ryelass pulled me behind his shield as acid splashed onto it. The metal faded away like sugar in water. The next attack I met with one of my javelins, and that too disintegrated into nothing.

Maria took off one of her bracers and used it as a miniature shield to bat acid away from her face. Like everyone else's armor and weapons it melted.

"SOVELLIS!" I screamed again as the enormous female maggot opened her maw. To my horror, he had frozen stiff.

My line of vision was suddenly swarmed by row after row of baby sand maggots.

No matter what I did, we were going to be too late. Worse still, there were just too many of them, not enough shields, and too little space. I braced myself for the onslaught.

There was a loud roar, followed by a growl. Something fell through the ceiling and landed directly onto the female sand maggot's back. I saw a spear shoved into the creature's girth. Not unlike what could happen to us, the maggot's flesh began to rot away. I thought it was Piricus for a moment, but he was trapped like the rest of us. Ice flew onto the newcomer, but it didn't seem to faze them.

The cold died away as the gigantic maggot died. The newcomer hurled the spear into the maggot holding Sovellis and it dropped him.

"Get down!" an unfamiliar female voice called. There was something odd about it, it didn't sound normal.

Scorpious got a shocked look on his face, then shouted "Do it!"

All of us dropped to our knees, then hunched over. Something made of glass broke and then a green mist filled the air. Poison. I tucked my head into my arm to avoid breathing it in. Luckily, it passed over us. The multitude of monsters breathed the gas in and suddenly toppled over, dead.

When everything was over and the gas was cleared, our savior stepped into the light from one of the tunnels. I couldn't have been more surprised. A fully armored saber cat stood there, with her tail swishing over the maggot's carcass.

Piricus laughed. "You're kidding me, right?" he said sarcastically.

"No. And I should think you'd be grateful for my intervention, it looked like a critical situation. Then again, Gyra told me you had an attitude," she said in a

weird cat/human voice.

"Who are you?" Ryelass snapped, becoming defensive.

"My name is Nira of the SunFur tribe. Your friends saved my life," she said, gesturing to Scorpious and Piricus.

"Incredible," Scorpious said in disbelief.

"So wha' now?" Alminus asked in amazement.

"You're even with us kitty cat, now you can leave," Piricus said bluntly.

"Hardly. I have repaid only a portion of my debt. You have saved my life, so I saved yours, but in our culture that is not enough. Your life belongs to that of your savior. I am here as is proper and I am at your disposal," she said stoutly.

"So, you're our slave?" Piricus asked, clearly surprised.

"If you believe you are, then as a master, I release you. Thank you for saving us, you have repaid your debt. You are free to go home," Scorpious said humbly.

"Do not insult me, paladin. It would bring me dishonor to go home when my masters are still out in the desert fighting for their lives. If honor wasn't enough, Ketan would have sent me with you anyway. He believes that what you are seeking is something that concerns all of us. This," she said, reaching under the enormous monster, "is solid proof. The power in this artifact alone worries Ketan. He wants me to go with you and make sure that it doesn't fall into the wrong hands," she said, holding up an old, weathered staff. The feeling of magic off of it was nearly enough to knock you over.

"Is that the—" Laurella began.

"The shaft of a Horadric staff? Yes," Maria said, scanning it with her eyes.

"This is . . .incredible. I don't believe it," Ahmad said, stunned. Like the rest of us, we were having trouble taking this in.

"I must warn you," Nira said gravely. "This is a race against time if you are seeking to create and use a Horadric staff. Someone else is seeking them too. A dark wanderer passed through our lands—" she began.

"What did he look like!?!" Ryelass said quickly.

"I know not. He wore a robe and a hood. And he had another human with him. I do not believe that this wanderer was human. I wasn't there, but Ketan speaks on this encounter with fear and he is not afraid of anything," she said with a slight shiver.

"She goes with us," Ryelass announced to the group at large as if we had nothing to say in the matter. "We need to know what she knows."

"That's not your call, warrior," Piricus said hotly.

"This will have to be a pride decision. One of my masters wishes me to leave and the other," she said, looking at Scorpious, whom nodded, "wishes me to stay."

"I say she stay. She save life," Sovellis said as he brushed himself off and headed over.

"She saved all of us, I think it would be a good idea," Laurella admitted.

"What makes you fools so sure she won't kill us in our sleep?" Piricus asked, mistrusting.

"Would I have bothered to save you, master, if I was merely going to kill you later?" Nira asked politely.

"Oh great. Piricus is somebody's master. This is going to be a disaster," Ryelass growled.

"You forget that Scorpious is too. They'll balance each other out," I replied.

"Whatever the decision, we should leave here now. I doubt we have finished off all the creatures in here," Ahmad urged, eager to leave.

"Piricus?" Scorpious asked him expectantly.

"Oh hell, why not? This might actually be amusing," he laughed.

"Come then, Nira. Tell us what you know on the way out of here," Scorpious requested as we headed towards a side tunnel that would take us to the surface.


	10. Chapter 10

Those of the tainted fang

Piricus

After some difficulty, we all managed to climb out of that insect stink-hole relatively unharmed. Of all of us, the she-cat the paladin and I had rescued seemed to be the quickest on her feet, true to any cat.

She jumped upon breaking the surface and nearly fell back into the tunnel for shock when the druid's three mutts walked up to her. I scowled.

"You three were a hell of a lot of help down there," I said to them crossly. The grey mutt actually growled at me.

"Why didn' they help us?" the barbarian agreed, surfacing topside.

"They couldn't fit down the chute with all of us in there," the amazon said simply as the trio of mutts gazed at us steadily with wild eyes.

The grey mutt moved in cautiously, sniffing the saber cat, whom went incredibly stiff. It seemed to me as if she actually stopped breathing when the brown mutt nudged her.

"They won't hurt you, Nira," the paladin said gently.

"All the same," she said uneasily, and swished her tan tail across the sand slowly in nervousness. "The arja may be your allies, but it will take some amount of time for me to become accustomed to them."

"Leave her alone," the amazon said to the threesome of animals disapprovingly as they continued to sniff her and prod her with their muzzles. "Belthem!" the amazon scolded when he didn't listen. Brazenly, she walked over and smacked the mutt's nose.

The mutt wrinkled his nose and snorted, then walked away with a disinterested pant. The other two mindlessly followed suit.

"Okay, so this is the part where your little mind powers kick into auto mode and tell us where we go next," I said sarcastically.

"It's not like I can just make it appear on demand," the amazon said in her defense.

"Me either," the rogue agreed.

"We are speaking of the remaining piece to the staff are we not?" the she-cat asked honestly.

"Good guess kitty-cat," I remarked simply.

"Piricus, show some respect," the paladin growled at me.

"She's my subordinate, paladin. I can call her what I want," I said truthfully.

"You have my deepest apologies, Nira," the paladin said eyeing me with distain.

"Fear not master paladin, I have not taken master necromancer's insults to heart. I am not yet a member of your pride; you have known me but a day. I understand that status within a pride takes time and achievement to earn. Perhaps with more time and experience, he will respect me as you do," she said simply.

"Not likely. He don' respect nobody," the barbarian growled.

"He half ass sort of respects Chyemme," the warrior scowled.

"Then perhaps Nira will be different from the rest and he will warm up to her," the paladin said, still giving me a glare.

"He treats me much the same," the mercenary told the she-cat. "The others say that makes us a part of this eclectic group."

"First rule o' thumb, don' take anythin' personally," the barbarian said lightly.

"I will try not to," she said with a toothy smile, revealing razor sharp fangs under her lips.

"What were you going to say before Piricus interrupted you?" the amazon asked affably.

"If master would have let me finish I would have told you that there is a place in the desert where magical artifacts often come to rest. They call it the lost city. Rumors are that human thieves were the only ones to know of its location and that they even made their own territory there, accumulating riches from all across Sanctuary. If we are looking for some artifact of importance, it would make sense for us to check there," the saber cat said simply.

The mercenary shook his head. "I have been deeper into the desert than any of my friends and never have I stumbled upon such a place. I fear if that is where we are headed, I cannot lead you," he admitted.

"But you sound like you know the way, Nira," the rogue observed.

The she-cat nodded. "I do. My people discovered it once much like you would describe 'by accident'. We had no desire for riches, only for supplies and the landed yielded none so we moved on," she said, going slightly quiet.

"Sounds like you made a fast exit," I deduced. "Care to explain the real reason you left in a hurry? As your master, I'm ordering you to tell me the truth and not hide things from me," I said bluntly.

She nodded. "Forgive my hesitation, master necromancer. I am unsure how the state of things are now, this was many years ago when I was still a cub, but Ketan told me that strange humans were roaming the lands. He said that they were human, but they smelled like they were—" she began.

"Dead," I finished for her. "Nothing like a good old plague of undeath," I said with a smile.

The paladin frowned. "Are you sure?"

"This is the truth to the best of my knowledge, master paladin. I am unsure if we shall encounter the same if we should visit," she admitted.

"Chances are we will. Depending on the plague, it can last for years, isn't that right, Piricus?" the assassin said to me flatly.

"You're correct, assassin," I agreed simply.

"But, doesn't the strength of such a thing decline with time?" the amazon asked.

"The plague may not be there still, but the undead, however many there were, probably will be," the assassin answered.

"Shouldn't they be ashes and dust by now?" the warrior asked.

"Things that are undead tend to linger," I said sarcastically. "Depends on who or what raised them."

"Magic could be ancient. Could be made so no intruder," the sorcerer suggested.

"A plague of undeath might be the ward of a necromancer," the assassin hissed at me, "but a normal mage wouldn't dare touch something that dark."

"It may or may not be that way when we get there. Let's just go look. We've dealt with our fair share of zombies and skeletons by now," the warrior said plainly. "We ought to be able to deal with them."

"Shows what you know, shorty. All zombies are of an individual species, kind of like these mutts," I said, gesturing to them, "are different from us. Each breed has their own set of unique abilities, or lack thereof," I said bluntly.

"But you would know what they were if you saw them, master necromancer?" the she-cat asked me expectantly.

"Kitty cat, if I didn't know I wouldn't be able to call myself a Priest of Rathma," I retorted.

"A what?" she asked me with a curious expression.

"Mage of the darkest kind. The kind that put hexes on other people," the assassin said in distain.

"Master cannot be all bad, he saved my life and the lives of you, his pride-mates," the saber cat said in my defense.

"Please don't, I'm begging you. Don't defend him, that's a waste of time and energy," the warrior growled.

"Well, it makes sense. I don't know about you, Ryelass, but when someone saves my life I feel inclined to respect them," the amazon countered.

"Well said. What is your name, human?" the saber cat asked her.

"Chyemme," she answered.

"That's right, we didn't have a chance to introduce ourselves," the paladin said apologetically. "I'm Scorpious of the new order of Zakarum, and it would please me if you simply used my name, no need to call me master," he offered.

"You are humble, master paladin. You must forgive me, but I still wish to call you master, if nothing else to hail you with the rank you deserve," she said simply.

"Well I guess if it makes you feel more comfortable," he admitted.

"I'm Laurella," the rogue said and extended a hand for her to shake.

The she-cat looked at her strangely. "What are you doing? I'm not familiar with this," she said, watching her, leery.

"That there's a greetin'. Ya shake hands when ya met somebody new," the barbarian explained.

"An awkward gesture. You see, to my pride, you hold out your paw and flex your claws to exhibit a challenge," she admitted.

I laughed. "A wonderful start, rogue. Go ahead and challenge her, it will be fun to watch her rip into you."

"I will not harm her, master necromancer, because her customs are different. I understand that humans and frasa are much different, so I will observe and ask questions before I act," she assured.

"Good," the assassin said simply, "that makes you a hell of a lot better than most humans."

"You speak poorly of your people, lioness," the saber cat observed.

"The assassin wants to think that she's better than the whole of humanity because she doesn't practice magic," I said plainly.

"Why you call her lioness?" the sorcerer asked curiously.

"Because she is a warrior of this pride, I can tell that much just by looking at her," she answered.

"My name is Maria, use that instead," the assassin said, slightly cold.

"You look deep in thought, mage of the dark skin," the she-cat said, surveying the sorcerer with her head slightly tilted.

"Sorry. I just tell friend something," he apologized.

"But you spoke not a word?" the she-cat said oddly.

"He and another member of our group are spiritually bound together. They can speak across great distances," the amazon explained.

"Amazing," she said in wonder.

"Not really," I laughed sarcastically. "They're also physically bound together. If something happens to one of them, it happens to the other as well, and that includes death."

"Still, that takes a powerful magic. Is this person your mate?" the she-cat asked curiously.

The sorcerer coughed. "No. No, she just good friend. She like sister," he explained.

"That is a deep connection to share with one's cub-mate," she stated.

"No kidding. A lesson to you then, kitty-cat. Don't play with forgotten elemental magics," I said with a sarcastic grin.

"Ours is a people with no talent for such things, you will not have to worry about me in that regard," she promised.

"Oh, what a letdown assassin," I laughed.

"Be quiet. I already have enough people to keep tabs on," she said staring at me icily.

"How far is this city, Nira?" the paladin asked.

" A day's walk for humans," she answered.

"Then we need to hurry," he answered as she took the lead and we began walking in silence.

It didn't take the warrior long to break it. "Nira, tell me about the encounter Ketan had with this dark wanderer," he said eagerly.

The she-cat growled audibly, though not at him. "As I said before, he was in no way human. The feel of him was . . . I cannot describe. Even powerful wouldn't be enough. No one saw his face, he wore a plain robe and hood, but what you could see where his eyes. They had a human shape, but where solid red and glowed through the darkness that shadowed his face. He did have a human companion however. This human looked to be in his middle years and was incredibly skinny. His fur was mostly gone on his head, save a thin ring around it. He also is hard to describe. He appeared to me as a man gone mad, for surely no creature would follow such a wanderer willingly. He appeared tormented, like he hadn't rested for days. His complexion was distorted. He looked like a shell of a trapped spirit. He was very fearful upon sight of us, though this wanderer clearly wasn't," she began.

"I was not there, but from what I heard, he approached Ketan, and asked, in a voice clearly not of this world, about the "eternal one and his bondage". My master had no knowledge of such things; there are supposedly a great many ancient beings in this desert. This news did not please the wanderer. He grabbed Ketan and hoisted him into the air with a finger. My pride-mates rushed him, but none touched him. It was as if even the air could not connect with him. They were all blasted backwards. Ketan managed only one strike in his defense, and that was into the man's hood. He must have hit something, because the wanderer dropped him. We expected the wanderer to retaliate, however he did not. He actually started laughing. He was obviously insane, and even his companion quaked in fear. He removed his hood ever so slightly, but only Ketan saw. He locked eyes with Ketan, and to this day, Ketan will not speak a word about what he saw. It unnerves him. The wanderer told him that he had already done him a great service, and with that he and his companion left. Ketan has no idea what he could possibly have meant by this, but this is all I know and all he would say," she finished.

"And this wanderer also seeks this artifact that you are chasing?" the mercenary said, going dead silent.

"Yes," the she-cat answered.

The mercenary stopped walking.

"Ahmad?" the paladin asked gently.

"What the hell are you people after? Better yet, what are you expecting to happen when you find it? Do you know this person? Speak the truth, or this is where we shall part ways!" he hissed.

"We paid you to do a job," the assassin snapped.

"Well, this comes terribly as a surprise," I said rolling my eyes. "Coward, you cannot handle the truth. Tell him paladin, and send him running with his ass facing the shadows."

"Piricus," the paladin said in reprimand.

"Diablo," the warrior said suddenly, utterly grave. "The wanderer is Diablo, the Lord of Terror and he is seeking his _brother_," the warrior hissed the word savagely, "Baal the Lord of Destruction. We are here to stop him at any and all costs," he growled.

The mercenary dropped his halberd. "Diablo? The prime evil!?! You're mad! All of you! This is a fool's errand! No one could possibly survive this! I've had it with this insanity! You obviously have no more need of my services, you have this demon to guide you," he huffed.

The saber-cat turned and leapt nimbly off the ground and landed on top of the mercenary, laying him flat. She turned the point of her spear down, and stopped it millimeters from his chest.

"I am not an arja, and I will not be called, or treated like one by you! You are pathetic, human. Run and hide if you wish. Though you may know the way, I doubt you'll make it on your own. If the hazards of the desert don't claim you, more than likely another clan of Frasa will. Mine is not the only tribe in this desert. I should kill you myself, betrayal is not tolerated in my pride!" she hissed.

I expected the paladin to stop her, but he remained motionless.

The assassin scowled. "Let him up, Nira. You have two options, mercenary. Do what we paid you for, or I will kill you myself," she said coldly.

"That's icy, assassin, even from you," I laughed.

"It's the truth," she said.

"Master paladin, master necromancer, what are your wishes?" the she-cat asked us.

"Kill him," I said plainly.

"Let him go," the paladin said at the same time.

The she-cat's hands twitched dangerously over her spear as she hesitated, clearly unable to decide.

"What are you waiting for?" I asked her skeptically and she raised her spear.

"Don't!" the paladin demanded, a harsh sound from him.

The mercenary took advantage of the situation, and kicked the confused saber-cat off his chest. He rolled to his feet and snatched his halberd. The dazed she-cat was helpless as he lunged for her. She stumbled and fell.

"Nira!" the paladin yelled in concern.

"Do something!" the amazon yelled in terror; clearly she was at a loss of what to do.

"Li' wha'?!" the barbarian answered, stunned.

"Idiots," I snarled. "Vanna Kadir!" I said, shouting the curse on my mind. Yellow-green energy poured off my hands and raced over the two of them. The mercenary's eyes began to glaze and then he abruptly dropped his halberd and started screaming, running around in circles, flailing wildly at the hallucinations I had conjured into his mind.

"Get up kitty-cat," I said bluntly.

She quickly jumped to her feet and grabbed her spear. "I have the right to defend myself, now I shall kill him!" she snarled, a feral sound.

"He's defenseless, let him go!" the paladin demanded, watching the display with disgust.

"Master necromancer? You have just saved my life again, yours is the decision that shall decide this matter," she said, eyeing the mercenary like a hungry lion, ironic, that's partially what she was.

"Piricus!" the paladin snapped.

"Looks like I call the shots this time, paladin," I said with a smile.

"Piricus don't!" the amazon pleaded.

"How long will that curse last?" the assassin asked coldly.

"For a long time or until I cancel it," I answered, a sly smile playing at my lips. "That's really cruel, assassin. I like it. Leave him be kitty-cat. Let him live with that for a little while. Get back up here and lead the way," I laughed.

"What about Ahmad?" the rogue asked, looking him over with pity.

"Leave him to his own devices. He was going to leave anyway. Just a little parting gift for his cowardice," I laughed and walked away.

"Scorpious can you?" the rogue asked, looking him over.

"No. This is all in his mind, this is not something I can physically repel," he hissed, another strange sound for him.

"Well, we can't jus' leave 'im here," the barbarian said uneasily.

"Sure you can. I'm doing it right now," I laughed, and walked beside the saber-cat to the head of the group.

"I agree with Piricus," the assassin said strangely. "He attacked Nira, a stupid move. If he would have succeeded in killing her, this would be a devastating loss, we'd be lost with no direction and can you honestly say you would have let him live? I wouldn't have. I agree with Nira. Betrayal will not be tolerated. I suppose this is a good thing. Better that he should do it out here than us get somewhere critical and betray us then. I think this is justice. We aren't killing him, and we aren't dropping him off in some strange land he won't recognize when he returns to normal. Just leave him here. That was his original plan anyway. To leave," she said with frost.

"Maria . . . ." the paladin said quietly.

"I won't suffer my allies to turn on each other. That's something for the corrupt," she said bluntly and walked away.

"Scorpious?" the amazon asked, clearly displeased.

"We don't have time for this. We need to move or it will be too late. Every second we waste is a second Diablo could be freeing Baal," the warrior hissed.

"Forgive me, father," the paladin spat beneath his breath and then turned away.

"Are you just going to leave him?" the amazon asked, stunned.

"Right now, we don't have a choice and Maria speaks truth. We have to put the lives of all the people in Sanctuary against the life of one man. And she's right, we aren't killing him. Move please, Chyemme this is already hard enough," the paladin said sorely as she touched his arm.

"Alright," she conceded softly and we left, hearing the mercenary's screeching for several minutes afterward.

"Something no right," the sorcerer said stiffly once we had traveled several minutes.

"I don't see anything wrong," the warrior said, scanning the horizon.

"He's right," the assassin said quietly. "The air is electrified. It has a current," she said, readying a katar.

"Could it be a storm?" the rogue asked dubiously.

"No, young cub," the saber-cat said, obviously she could tell the rogue was the youngest of us by far. "Rain here does not come until the winter months."

"What is it then?" she asked, leery.

"Chyemme, seeing as yours is the only shield we have left, hand it to me please," the assassin requested, eyeing the amazon's ceremonial shield.

She hesitated. "What are you going to do with it?"

"Make a ward around us. Quickly before they find us," the assassin said vaguely.

"They?" the barbarian asked.

"Lioness Maria is right. There are greth agarm ahead. I can smell them in the air," the saber-cat said, sniffing the wind with her cat-like muzzle.

"She mean lightning scarab," the sorcerer clarified. "Curious creature, they command element of lightning and no have magic. Scarab naturally powerful. They predator," he finished.

"He's right. The greth agarm are the natural enemies of my people. As we hunt antelope and occasionally humans, they hunt us. They are very dangerous, even for a full pride like ours. It is an achievement for any frasa to kill one. Second only, to killing an arja," she said, eyeing the druid's mutts wearily.

"The shield," the assassin demanded.

"Right, sorry," she apologized and handed it over.

"Sovellis, your staff," the assassin continued.

He looked at her skeptically for a moment, and then handed it over with a nod. "I think I know what you do."

I watched as the assassin placed the staff vertically upright in the sand and hung the shield in front of it, dangling from the top. The assassin lit her katars up with lightning and gave the strange totem a tap. I could feel the lightning spark in all directions around us. Moments passed, and still I saw nothing. I was beginning to think the assassin had lost her mind, when I saw them; creatures that looked like enormous beetles that walked on two legs. They had long mantis-like hands and antennae coming out of their heads. Their carapaces were a vibrant violet, and though I was not a practitioner of elemental magics, I could clearly feel the sparking current they were giving off. Great. More bugs. Personally, I hate them myself, though I am not afraid of them by any means.

"Everyone be still," the assassin instructed as she watched them carefully. The creatures edged closer to us, I could hear the buzz of their shells. There were a series of clicking noises, as the grotesque insects communicated. They turned their faceted eyes towards our hiding place and their shells began to buzz slightly more than usual. I could hear the rogue shift around uneasily behind me, though the movements were miniscule.

Seemingly satisfied, the sparking vermin walked away, leaving us completely unharmed. On the assassin's signal, we remained still for several minutes afterwards. Once she appeared satisfied, she handed the amazon back her shield and disassembled the totem.

"Tha' wers bizarre," the barbarian said bluntly.

"I agree. Why didn't they attack us?" the amazon asked.

"Scarab can no see. Only feel," the sorcerer explained.

"They have eyes, that's what's really weird," the rogue said.

"Their eyes are for display only, young-cub. They fool other creatures into giving themselves away. If you think they can't see you and you stay still, that is when they shall strike. The greth agarm hunt solely by feel. Every creature, frasa or otherwise, gives off energy. The greth agarm pick up on energy patterns," the saber-cat explained.

"I get it," the amazon said, nodding. "That lightning ward around us was made of pure energy. They must have thought that everyone behind it was one of their own, that's why they didn't attack."

"Correct," the assassin answered.

"It's a good thing those things have some sort of pack arrangement where they don't eat each other," the warrior said in relief.

"While it is true the greth agarm do not eat each other, they are hardly picky and will eat anything else. They move at incredible speeds once they have their senses on prey. In this regard, frasa are the same. What makes them dangerous is that energy lingers. If you run, your energy trail stays behind. Every place your paws touch the sand has your feel on it, unless the environment wipes it clean in extreme conditions of weather. You may leave their sight, and they may no longer smell you, but they will often times find you quickly. It shames me to admit, but this skill gives them an advantage over frasa," the saber-cat said grimly.

"They're gone. I can't feel them anymore," the rogue assured us.

"Good. Then we are almost there, just about half a human hour," the she-cat said as we began to move forward.

The sun was sweltering hot, and it wasn't long before we were sweating, even though some of us were minus some armor that we had lost in the battle with those Trag 'Oul damned beetles. Speaking of such, I had lost my entire breastplate. It would be easy enough to replace, I could conjure another from bone. That is, if this forsaken place ever started producing any.

I could sense undead activity almost the instant the ruined buildings came into view on the horizon.

"Good, time for some new armor," I said jovially.

"New armor? You can already see things up there?" the warrior scowled.

"I'm not a hawk, I can't _see_ anything. I can feel them and hear them," I corrected bluntly.

"Master necromancer is correct. I smell them. They hurt my nose," the she-cat said, wiping it with a paw/hand.

"How many?" the paladin asked.

"About ten is my guess, master paladin," the she-cat answered.

"No problem," the warrior said with confidence.

"Wait Ryelass. There's bound to be some sort of catch. This is too easy," the amazon said, leery.

"Maybe not. It could be just as it looks," the warrior shrugged. "Do you sense anything?"

The amazon hesitated. "I'm too far away to feel how many there really are, but I'm feeling a change in the atmosphere. Something big is about to happen."

"Do ya think it could be Diablo?" the barbarian asked, tightening his grip on his axe.

"I don't know," she admitted.

"Hurry then!" the warrior insisted and hastily began making his way forward.

"Ryelass, wait!" the paladin said uneasily as he chased after him.

For someone so short, he ran surprisingly fast. The ruined buildings began to take on a much clearer shape, and so did the undead in them. Plague Bearer zombies, though something was different about these. I looked them over and recalled my studies. These shouldn't present too much of a challenge.

The warrior jumped over a section of broken wall and smashed into a zombie on his right. He stabbed the creature through the heart and gave his blessed blade a twist, crumbling his opponent into burning ash. He shot out a back kick into the chest of another zombie closing in from behind, then turned with his sword overhead and split that one down the middle. The rogue fired into the chest of one that was coming from his side, killing it. The sorcerer pulled back both hands and cast fireballs out of both of them, killing two more. I took a shot at a few of them as well, loosing teeth spells into them. Two of them fell to the ground. The paladin opened his palm and flung a holy bolt, making short work of another one. The barbarian decapitated one with a throwing axe, and the amazon killed one with a javelin.

I immediately set to work, calling the bones from the fallen. I collected the bones and smoothed them into an essence with my energy that I shaped around my chest. Armor appeared there, like a skeleton hugging my chest. The rest of the bones I reassembled into skeletons, all in all probably about three with what I had left.

The saber-cat watched me carefully.

"What's the matter, kitty-cat?" I asked with an amused smile.

"Yours is an amazing power, master-necromancer. To command the dead to serve you," she said in awe, and a slight tinge of unease.

"That just means your servitude to me might be eternal. I can use you dead or alive," I laughed.

She shivered, then snorted. "Very funny, master."  
"You've actually got half a spine. That's good," I said simply.

"See. This was easy. What did I tell you?" the warrior said with a smile.

"It would be," I told him snidely, "because these particular zombies usually only come out at night. They crumble to dust easy enough like these just did when they're out in the day. No, what's really troublesome is when these things are in the dark. It makes them stronger."

"Nightfall isn't for another half day at least," the she-cat assured.

"That's what you think," the amazon said, going deadly quiet as she watched the horizon. Like a painter moving a brush, dark carpeted the horizon until in a blink it was black as pitch all around us.

"What the hell just happened?" I snapped, calling my skeletons to my side.

"Could this have been what you were sensing, Chyemme?" the warrior asked, shifting uneasily. The druid's three mutts were looking uneasy as well as they placed themselves evenly around us.

"Had to be," she answered with a shiver. "Maria?" she asked to the assassin whom looked deep in thought.

"We're in the middle of a solar eclipse. It's strange, because there wasn't one marked by astronomers to happen for another couple of years. Some force outside of nature must be causing it," she said, clearly at a loss for what was happening.

"Bet none of them foresaw those either," I said sarcastically as I watched rotting hands begin to pop out of the sand like daisies. Those hands were suddenly followed by the dead, rotting, and mangled corpses of plague bearer zombies as they surfaced to life from beneath us. This whole place must have been a battle field at one point; it had to be with the rate these things were unearthing.

The druid's mutts gave an ear-piercing howl as a battle cry as they sprang to the ready.

"What the hell?" the warrior growled and yanked his sword from the sheath.

"The real fun begins now," I said plainly and ordered my skeletons into the fray as I began losing spells into the monumental crowd. I launched spell after spell, and much to my dismay, my magic hit and bounced off. Similarly, the mage beside me was having a rough time as well. He cast a bolt of ice, then lightning, but still nothing. The rogue and the amazon both dispatched enhanced projectiles, the amazon with lightning and the rogue with ice. That didn't do any good either. The warrior, the barbarian, and the assassin all threw various metal weapons, and though those hit and stuck, the undead felt no pain. These things felt no pain; they felt only a driving hunger for the flesh of the living.

The paladin alone seemed to be having luck. He was tossing balls of white magic off his fist in rapid succession, which were hitting and felling enemies, but there were simply too many of them. He hastily dropped to his knees and began chanting as white balls of light erupted from all around us, smashing into the undead and eating holes there. Several more fell, but more came behind them. So many in fact, that they starting overtaking us despite the paladin's aura. A rotting hand reached for the paladin, only to be burned off by the aura, but the other hand caught him under the collar and hoisted him into the air.

The holy man smashed his sword into the monster's neck without mercy and it dropped him as white fire burned it to dust, but another was directly behind that one. The paladin had no time to defend against this one. It grabbed his arm, the one without the gauntlet and made to bite down savagely. A whip came streaking out of nowhere and wrapped around the creature's neck. It was the saber-cat. She yanked back fiercely, with strength to outmatch any human, and pulled the creature's head from its neck. Both pieces, head and body, fell to the ground, still thrashing. The paladin hastily stilled them in time to return the she-cats favor. He flung a holy bolt into a creature coming at her side.

"HELP!" the rogue shouted in fear. Three zombies had all made it through the paladin's barrier and were in melee range. The warrior ran and slashed into one with his holy sword. It burned the creature, but egged on by the rogue's frightened cry, the monster continued coming. The warrior actually had to tackle it to the ground to keep it from advancing, and he grappled with the burning atrocity fiercely on the ground. The assassin dove into the fray and managed to slice an arm off, but the arm grabbed her around the knees as it fell and she stumbled forwards into the creature. In an amazing display of reflex, she folded her arm back to block the creature's bite with her katar, centimeters from her face. She shoved back hard and then used that psychic power of hers to push back even further though with some unfathomable strength it shoved back and tackled her down, jumping on top of her. I couldn't see if it bit her or not, the third one had actually managed to get to the rogue and block my view as she shoved her crossbow into its mouth as a gag, and the creature began chewing on the weapon, putting chips into the wood. If somebody didn't stop it, the rogue was going to lose her weapon. One of my skeletons strayed over to that area and stumbled into the monster as a strike from another one hit it. The one intent on the rogue turned and bit down on it instead, an odd reaction since they usually only wanted flesh. My guess was this thing was too oblivious with hunger to care. It snapped the arm of my skeleton, but in return my minion embedded an axe into its skull. That did nothing whatsoever, save give it a tacky head ornament.

I tossed several teeth spells and bone spears, none of which did any good. I knew what we needed. A good dose of corroding poison. I opened my hands and sent poison bolts flying into the fray. They hit a few monsters and began corroding away the ancient, rotting flesh. Soon they were nothing but dust.

A few more behind those must have locked onto my magical energy and somehow ran right through the paladin's aura to get to me. I ducked under the rotting fist of one and slammed my dagger into the mouth of the one behind it, impaling it. I hissed as the thing chomped down on the blade, entangling it in its mouth and wrenched it away from my grasp. I sprayed poison all around me, and that was working well, just not fast enough. I snapped my fingers, disassembling one of my minions and coalesced it back into a bone shield, which the zombies came crashing down on. All around, from what I could see, no one was gaining ground and we were all struggling to stand the ones we had. Even the druid's mutts, which were working together to take a few down, were having severe problems.

"They're resistant to everything! Even Scorpious' aura! What do we do?" the amazon shouted above the dull roar of the hungry dead.

"We need light, amazon. A good blast of light will powder them all into dust!" I growled and sliced off a hand that came under my bone shield.

White-blue stars of amazon and rogue innersight burst around us, though the monsters paid them no mind. They whisked through them like the paladin's aura. That at least, was doing minimal damage.

"It's not working!" the warrior grunted, apparently still fighting with the undead on the ground.

"I have an idea! The staff!" the she-cat yelled and pulled it off her back.

"No one here can use that!" I heard the assassin hiss from somewhere.

"Not true. Mage of the dark skin can!" she called back.

The sorcerer looked at her dubiously as he struggled to hold back three undead with his own staff.

"The horadric cube nearly short-circuited when he touched it!" the assassin snarled.

"If anything, lioness Maria, that means his magic is strong enough to cause a reaction! Mage of the dark skin, take the staff!" the saber-cat yelled desperately and tossed it over the crowd of zombies with ease.

He still looked uncertain, but that was short-lived. He gave a push with his staff, knocking the undead away, then dropped that staff to catch the horadric one. I could feel the energy from here. Lightning sparked all over his hands and along the length of the staff. He held it overhead and chanted something in an arcane language I only minimally understood. Lightning, not the element, but pure light flooded through the area like rain and culminated in a pulsating ring of light around all of us. The ring burned all the undead and then the sorcerer shouted out a final word, sending light bursting forth in a nova, blasting the enemies to ash as if it were the actual sun that were shining. The groans of undeath suddenly became whispers, then silence as the light died back down. A desert breeze drifted across the area, blowing black corpse dust across the land like a mist until the only remains of our adversaries were streaks of black in the sand at our feet.

"Incredible!" the rogue squeaked.

"No kidding! Wow Sovellis that was amazing!" the amazon agreed.

"I surprised too. Never feel magic as this," the sorcerer said, running his fingers down the length of the weapon, causing small sparks.

"And you won't from this point on. Give it back to someone else," the assassin demanded, unnerved.

"In addition to being defiant to your orders bitch, there are other benefits to letting the mage keep the staff," I said rudely.

"Piricus is right," the paladin said, backing me up, which surprised me some. "The staff is in the hands of someone that can use its powers. None of us can but Sovellis. Him wielding it would be a tactical advantage, especially if we run into more zombies. He has given you no reason not to trust him Maria, he even brought Vendra back from the plan of the ethereal he's so grounded," he insisted gently.

"Power corrupts," she hissed, not relenting in the slightest.

"I give back. I not keep," the sorcerer promised.

"That's worth next to nothing, the word of a mage," she growled. "I can't tell you how many times I've heard this."

The sorcerer got a sour look on his face and closed his eyes. "You make feisty one mad with remark. She say we not trust you, not other way around. She say and me agree, we fight beside you not against. We only help since beginning. We had choice to become bad, but we no did. Even feisty one gave power up when no need. And she had greater power than me. She magic entirely, not just use instrument," he argued.

"It's true," the amazon reasoned. "He's had every chance in the world to go renegade, but he didn't."

"Lioness, do you not trust any? Even those of your pride?" the she-cat asked strangely.

"No," she said coldly.

"That is a lie, lioness, and you know it. You would not fight so fiercely for those you do not trust," the saber-cat pointed out.

"Come on, Maria. If ya won' trus' Sovellis, then can ya trus' tha rest o' us ter make sure nothin' happens? Can ya trus' us as yur friends?" the barbarian asked sincerely.

"I will tolerate this only until the very last second this is necessary," she hissed, backing down.

"Good attitude, assassin. Mirrors mine about all of you exactly," I said with a sadistic smile.

"What now?" the rogue said looking around.

"The rest of the staff could be anywhere. We don't even know what it is we're after," the warrior said, looking through the blackness at nothing in particular.

"It is simple," the she-cat said, in thought. "Now that mage of the dark skin has activated the powers of the staff, we can use them to find each other. It is the same with the frasa, if one of us gets separated from the others, we roar to the rest and they find us. It is the same," she said, glowering at them, "with arja. The staff will find its remaining piece for us," she explained.

"Is that true, Sovellis? Do you feel any different?" the rogue asked, watching him with the staff in his hands.

A small trail of lightning buzzed up his arm as nothing more than a glow. "I do. This way, staff buzz in direction," he said, pointing to the right.

"Hurry, before we find more zombies," the amazon said with a shiver.

"Fear not, Lioness Chyemme. I do not smell any more of them around," the she-cat said reassuringly as we took off swiftly lead by the sorcerer.

We did run into more zombies, but this time, wielding the horadric staff, the sorcerer was able to dispatch them quickly before they really had time to charge us. We raced through the darkness, and I could see something large looming up ahead. It was some type of building, and this one looked to be intact. We raced to the wide-open entrance way and stopped as the sorcerer came to a halt.

"What's wrong?" the rogue asked.

"Rogue, do you really want to go running into a dark fortress when you can't see where you're going and you have no idea what's in there?" I said sarcastically.

"I sense great magic. Piece of staff in here. It up there," the mage said pointing to where the building towered over us.

"Hmm, that's a change. Up not down," the warrior said thoughtfully, looking it over.

"Wha' tha hell is that?" The barbarian hissed and he made a monumental leap backwards as something came swathing through the sand in a zig-zag. Quicker than I could register, the barbarian leapt into the air and came crashing down on the streak of movement with his axe. Blood stained the sand as the head of an enormous sand viper came off.

"Snake!" the rogue yelped and tensed up.

"Don't look young cub," the she-cat said swiftly as she stabbed into the sand behind the rogue into the head of another one. "There's one here too."

"And," the amazon hissed, "here too," she snarled and jabbed into the sand by her ankles.

The druid's grey mutt thrust its nose into the sand, like a heron striking for a fish and came up with a viper about its size. He had the body, but his packmates swiftly joined in. The black one grabbed the tail and the brown one expertly grabbed behind the creature's flailing head before it could bite anything. All three tugged and ripped the viper into pieces. The three mutts started racing around us wildly, biting into snakes as they slithered from nowhere by the hundreds.

"There are hundreds of them!" the amazon said quietly as she watched slithering blurs appear from all sides.

"We need to take some higher ground quickly!" the warrior said and swiped the head off a viper at his feet and stabbing into another one to the side.

"Into the building," the assassin demanded quickly, "I'll deal with these before someone receives a fatal bite."

Nobody questioned her. One by one we raced up the steps to the door of the archway. The assassin raced a few paces up the steps, pulled something metal from her pouch and pushed a button, before tossing the object into the sand. Fire quickly walled the steps from the serpents as they incinerated themselves trying to get through. She hastily rejoined us.

"Up the steps is bound to be the quickest way, this building looks straight forward," she said simply.

We climbed into the stairwell and I began seeing odd depictions on the wall. They looked like enormous half-human half-snake creatures in the stone. There were enormous depictions of actual snakes themselves, and then of snakes eating humans and other creatures.

"The druid would love this place. They worship vermin here too," I said sarcastically.

"Where are we?" the rogue asked, tense and alert.

"I don't know, young cub. I've never been this far in the desert before, we've obviously gone well past the lost city," the she-cat said wearily.

"What's that sound?" the amazon asked, straining to listen.

"Snakes, amazon. There are only thousands of them outside," I said bluntly.

"These sound different. In fact—" she began.

Without warning the rogue fired into the blackness. A loud hiss was heard as something large fell off the ceiling above the amazon. It landed in a pool of blood at our feet. It was an enormous serpent, only it had hands and monumental claws.

"Wha' tha hell's that thing?" the barbarian asked curiously.

"Why don't you ask that one, barbarian? Or the one over there? I'm sure they'd be happy to tell you," I said quickly, seeing the strange things slither off the walls and ceiling. "No, no, let me," I said filling my fists with poison, "Oh wait, I forgot. I don't speak vermin," I snapped and loosed the bolts into two of the strange demons on the ceiling.

My spells hit, and absorbed into their skin. Seemingly feeding on the poison, they grew twice the size from before.

"Great work Piricus," the warrior hissed and tossed a knife after one that was rapidly encroaching. It hit and bounced off.

"You're an excellent example, warrior," I shot back. I tried something else, I conjured a bone spear and sent that at the creature. It too hit and bounced off.

"You're useless in here," the assassin said coldly. "These are claw vipers. Poison makes them stronger and their hides are thicker than steel."

"Well you do something then, assassin," I said bluntly.

"I will," she said curtly, before charging her blades with fire and running at the creature at top speeds. It was then I noticed that these things had barbs on their tails. The snake struck at the assassin, but she yielded aside, and cut off the tail in a blaze of flame. The creature roared in pain as she decapitated it.

"That wers easy," said the barbarian, as he watched the rogue blast another in the face with a flaming bolt.

The amazon took a shot with a lightning javelin and killed another one, and suddenly all of us were blasted backwards as lightning lit the area. A stray strand grazed my arm and I felt the warmth of the burn and my blood as it started to surface.

I quickly picked myself up and noted sourly that one of my minions had been killed in that blast, and that I only had one left.

The amazon seemed to have taken the brunt of that attack, she staggered to her feet, dazed and bleeding. It was then I realized that the blood of this creature had acted as a conduit.

"Don't use lightning!" the assassin reprimanded. "Their blood conducts!"

"You could have told me earlier," the amazon cringed.

"Try fire," the warrior hissed and dispatched a fireball into the face of a creature coming up on the injured amazon.

The blast hit, but the serpent demon kept coming.

"Why didn't that work?" the warrior demanded crossly.

"Snakes are cold-blooded. Heat makes them stronger. Maria and Laurella had physical attacks behind the flame," the amazon groaned. She twisted nimbly and blocked a striking tail with the shaft of a javelin. She dodged several more strikes, a testament to her agility given her condition, before a final whip of the thing's tail sent her sprawling onto the ground.

The saber-cat was there in a flash and starting colliding with the snake-thing in a flurry of movement. Both were faster than the human eye, so I really couldn't see anything. Another demon approached the warrior.

"Don't use your sword!" the assassin reminded, recalling the magical enchantment of lightning made upon the blade by the Horadric Malus what seemed like forever ago.

"What do you want me to use?!" he cried exasperated. "My hands?!"

"Hang on buddy, I'll handle it," the barbarian assured and rushed the creature. He hacked at the demon's middle, but the steel reverberated off the skin, sending him bounding backwards. In retaliation, the snake demon stung him swifter than I could really see. The thing got its barb lodged in the barbarian's shoulder. Frost crept over the wound and the barbarian stumbled.

"Alminus!" the warrior shouted in worry and raced over to him as he started to go stiff and fall forward.

The assassin raced toward them to help them and hastily engaged the snake demon in battle.

The paladin heard the warrior's distressed cry and raced over quickly, parrying a strike as he went. "Frost venom," he muttered and began chanting, halting the flow of frost over the gargantuan man's body.

"Maria, do you have—" the paladin began, but he was silenced by a cry from her. She had finished that one off, but another one had stung her from behind. True to an assassin, the poison didn't work immediately, she had enough time to kill that one, but then she stumbled.

The paladin chanted something and a rippling blue ring formed around our bodies. I felt no change, but it was apparent that whatever this aura was, it was keeping the assassin and barbarian from freezing solid.

The rogue had killed several more by providing covering fire, and the sorcerer was busy helping her. He seemed to be having some luck, he was using ice. It was slowing them down incredibly, enough for the rogue to finish them.

The saber-cat had finished her battle and was already fighting three more. It was like watching a blur of colored ribbons wrap around each other, shape was indistinguishable. There was a loud yelp and the she-cat landed on her ass not five feet from me. It didn't look like she had been stung, but by the looks of it that was about to change.

Out of nowhere the druid's grey mutt leapt through the air and snagged the serpent-demon's tail in his jaws and began shaking violently. The brown one latched onto a hand that was reaching for the grey one, and then the black one latched onto the other. All three mutts managed to wrestle the demon to the ground working together, where the she-cat was able to finish it off.

A snake demon lunged for me, one of the enlarged two I had made the mistake of using poison against earlier. I was reduced to dodging as my useless minion tried in vain to hack the creature off of me. I quickly recycled it into a bone shield, buying myself some time to try and think of a way out of this.

"Oh my goddess . . . ." the amazon said, deadly serious as snake-demons began pouring out of holes in the walls and ceiling. We were swarmed and there was nothing we could do.

"Up the steps! To the top!" the paladin demanded as he and the warrior picked up the barbarian between them.

Then, in a strange act, the sorcerer actually turned and picked up the assassin's limp form, with hisses and scowls from her, as he hastily removed her from danger. I had no choice, I had no weapons that would help me here, my dagger was as useless as the barbarian's axe. I took to running up the stairs, safe behind my bone shield, along with the others.

The top of the staircase was barred by a door, which the amazon and the she-cat managed to open with the help of the rogue. We stormed in, and slammed the door behind us.

"Jifha!" the saber-cat growled, though I have no idea what that word meant. My guess was a swear word and I let one loose to when I saw where we were. We were in some grand altar room; there was a strange column of black light coming from the altar in the center and on the altar was a strange triangular piece of metal, causing the glow. I didn't need to be told that was the object we were after. But, there were even more of the snake demons in here than there were out there. Most of all, a grey one with spines growing all over its body; so much so, it might as well have been a porcupine.

The grey one was faster than anything I have ever seen. In a move not even the saber-cat could register it charged us and started stabbing with its deadly tail. The amazon, having the only shield left, boldly ran up to the creature and began parrying blows, though it was so insanely fast she was having trouble.

The sorcerer sat the assassin on the wall behind him and stepped in front of her. Similarly, the paladin and warrior set the barbarian down and both of them took defensive positions as the onslaught of serpent demons came slithering at us with everything they had. I tried to cast a decrepify curse, anything to slow them down, but somehow that was also useless.

The spinous monster finally managed to get a strike through the amazon's shield, literally through it. It wrenched it from her grasp and sent it flying through the air into the mass of demons behind it.

"Stand back!" the sorcerer called, though we had nowhere to go. "I call storm!"

"Not in here! You'll kill us!" I snapped.

"You have a better idea?" the warrior snapped, swiping with the flat of his sword so not to cause an explosion. It kept the demons at bay only for a fraction of a second.

The sorcerer didn't wait he threw the horadric staff into the air above his head and began calling down an icy storm. Frost blew through the windows and ice starting raining down in deadly spires, skewering many demons and freezing several more. The spiky one seemed to be immune and it dove at the sorcerer and stabbed fiercely into his leg with spines and barbs. The mage stumbled and dropped the Horadric staff, beginning to go stiff.

The amazon acted quickly and in an unthinkable act of pain, she jumped onto the creature's back, stabbing herself with spines on her upper leg, but she managed to impale the creature from behind. It spewed blood everywhere, but still managed to survive. It flipped her off its back and she landed on hers directly into harm's way. The creature reared back to strike and end her life.

All of us, even the demons, fell over backwards from the force with which something hit the wall. Something enormous broke through and heat seared us all as a ball of molten magma rolled through the area, smashing demons flat and melting them into mush.

The grey one regained itself quickly and made to finish the amazon. Some blur dove at the creature and grabbed its tail, shaking it savagely. I saw something rush into the room, and a large brown mass collided with the grey demon and began wrestling with it fiercely. A primal roar resounded through the area as the blur took on a shape.

It was a big, furry, and enraged grizzly bear. The thing in the air holding the monster's tail was a raven, with a white stripe on one wing. The druid's mutts starting barking excitedly as the flame-haired man entered into the room with two more people at his side. The bear managed to pin the lead demon down, and then someone ran it through with a red-hot halberd. I thought I was going to die from shock. It was our mercenary.

The third person bashed several demons with a staff, then made her way over. I hate that woman. Why was she still alive?

"Knucklehead, I leave you to your own devices and look what happens!" the sorceress scolded and pulled a yellowish vial from her pocket and gave it to him.

"Fiesty one, you still not—" he began sternly.

"Am too. I'm not useless! I can still fight!" she insisted and pulled him to his feet.

The druid locked eyes with his bear and the enormous creature bit down on the dead grey demon's tail, tearing the end off.

"Everyone get down!" the druid shouted. I had no desire to be caught in whatever the druid was going to do, so I did as he said. Wind raced through the area, through the windows and hole in the wall. The druid, using both arms, ripped the barb on the creature's tail open and tossed it into the wind before hitting the floor himself along with his animals. A golden fluid swirled into the air and became a fine mist, carried by the wind. All the stunned serpents breathed it in and immediately died from the venom. That was clever, using their own venom against them. Why hadn't I thought of that?

Moments passed and the wind faded, leaving silence.

"You can get up now," the sorceress said with a laugh as she helped the sorcerer to his feet. "And I don't know why, but you can have this," the female mage scowled as she handed the assassin a thawing potion, "but only if you can drink it yourself," she added coldly.

"I'll be fine," the assassin hissed and drank it.

"Really? That's a shame, assassin," I said coldly.

"Hello jackass," the sorceress said to me rudely.

"Didn't miss you a second, bitch," I said bluntly.

"Cloudyous! You're alright!" the amazon said in relief as she picked her injured self up.

"Fit as a fiddle thanks to a new friend I want you to meet when we get back. Chyemme, you're hurt pretty bad," he said with sympathy.

"It should be fine," she said shakily, and contrary to her statement she stumbled and fell.

"I'm going to ask Gaia to carry you back," he said gently, looking from her to the bear.

"Not before we get this," the revived assassin said plainly and walked over to the altar and smashed it in with a katar. The mist spiraled up and out of the building and was suddenly replaced by blinding, golden sunlight as the eclipse vanished.

"Let there be light," she mumbled and retrieved the glowing, golden talisman from the altar. "Now we can go."  
"You have some nerve to show your face here, coward," the she-cat growled at the mercenary.

"I was wrong, and I disgraced myself, Griez, and all my friends at the same time. Forgive me, allow me a chance to redeem myself," he apologized, getting on his knees before the saber-cat.

"I should kill you," she hissed.

"As your master I'm asking you to show mercy," the paladin requested.

"Kill him if you want kitty-cat. After all, that might not be an isolated incident," I dismissed.

"I have never been so afraid in my life. I will never double-cross you again, for I never wish to experience anything like that again. I'd rather die and go to hell, and next time you might do worse. I have only the utmost respect for you, necromancer," he said humbly.

"Oooh. Respect. Finally," I said sarcastically.

"Master?" the she-cat asked me.

"One more mistake merc, I'll use your corpse to finish your job," I hissed menacingly and I meant every word.

"Is this the saber-cat you were telling me about, hardhead?" the sorceress asked the mage.

"Yes," he said simply.

"I'm guessing these are more members of your pride?" the she-cat said, eyeing them.

"Yes. Cloudyous is the leader of the wolves," the rogue answered.

"The master of arja? Indeed you are a powerful human," she said to him and gave a curt nod.

"Come, you can fill us in on the way out of here. We need to go back to town immediately," the druid instructed as he helped the amazon onto the bear's back while everyone else thawed the barbarian.

"How are we going to leave, there are thousands of snakes outside and more of those monsters," the amazon asked weakly.

"I convinced the snakes that claw vipers are tastier than we are; the sand vipers ate them. Since they aren't hungry anymore, they've agreed to let us pass," the druid announced simply.

"That's really creepy, Cloudyous," the warrior said with an odd look on his face.

"Not really. Snakes eat other snakes all the time in the wild," he answered with a smile.

"I like the way you think, druid. Let's hurry and get out of this Trag 'Oul damned valley before those critters change their minds," I said bluntly, leading the way out.


	11. Chapter 11

AN: Thanks again for all of you reading and reviewing you guys rock my world =) Sorry for the delay, life happened and some not very good things.

Lure

Chyemme

True to Cloudyous' word, the snakes didn't attack us on our way out of the valley. In fact, they must have engorged themselves too greatly to even move, all were cat napping as we hastily and uneasily made our way by them.

Speaking of cats, I had a serious question on my mind. "Nira, are you coming with us into town?" I asked, suddenly concerned.

"Though you are with us, I highly doubt you will find welcome there. Many would probably try to attack you," Cloudyous admitted truthfully.

"You have helped us out tremendously already, you may go home whenever you wish," Scorpious said gently.

"I shall stay, master paladin. I shall stay until this wanderer is found and stopped before he destroys everything, human and frasa alike. I do not fear humans," she said boldly.

"That's really stupid kitty-cat. You're tough but you can't take on an entire civilization by yourself," Piricus pointed out with what I actually thought was an undertone of concern.

"Isn't there something we can do?" I asked, wracking my brain.

"I think, if we can get her to meet us outside, my new acquaintance can help us. She healed my arm and Bibo's wing, a miraculous woman," Cloudyous said in admiration.

"She healed your arm when Fara couldn't?" Laurella asked curiously.

"Yes," he said fondly.

"What about you, Vendra? Are you feeling any better?" I asked kindly.

She sighed and frowned. "If you're asking if I have my magic back, no. But I do have my determination back. I got over feeling sorry for myself and decided that Alminus can fight without magic so I can too. After all, Sovellis and I were trained in the art of a staff. Speaking of staves, hardhead, I could feel it when you used it. That was intense!" she said in awe.

"Maybe you carry," he said, offering it to her. "Maybe you reconnect magic," he suggested softly.

"That won't help, it's an object to channel magic through, she hasn't got any," Maria said simply.

"Well aren't you a bundle of optimism, assassin?" Piricus laughed rudely.

"At least the bear's calmed down," I said in gratitude as my aching body rubbed up against soft fur as the bear carried me.

"Honestly, Chyemme, I think Bibo had more to do with that than me. She was able to tell her our tale better than me. Birds have a beautiful gift for song," he said with a smile.

"She sang to her?" Ryelass asked.

"Yes, music calms the savage beast," Cloudyous replied, reciting the old adage. "I see you three have been getting on just fine," he continued affectionately as he gave each wolf a scratch behind the ears.

"Your arja are very powerful, human of the fire-hair," Nira said in seriousness.

"You may call me Cloudyous," he said with a laugh.

"Perhaps in time, I will," Nira said with a slight bow of respect.

"How did you guys get out here so fast? We've been out here nearly a week," Laurella said, voicing my question aloud.

"Another gift of my acquaintance," Cloudyous said simply.

"Druid are you sure you're not imagining things? Why in the name of Trag 'Oul would someone like her just appear from nowhere?" Piricus asked rudely.

"I know not, Piricus. I only know that she is very powerful and that I have a lot to thank her for," my druid friend responded.

"I think, but I don't know for sure, that she might have shown up because she learned of the wanderer. I think she knows something she hasn't told Cloudyous and I. Maybe she was waiting until we were all together before she does," Vendra admitted.

"Hey look, another waypoint," Alminus said with interest as the blue circle loomed into view.

"Our new friend was able to basically teleport us through it, even though we've never been here before," Vendra said with awe.

"She mage too?" Sovellis asked with interest.

Maria scowled. "Has to be. I don't know of another type of person that can teleport things."

"Place nice assassin, maybe you'll make some new friends," Piricus laughed snidely.

"More like enemies," Vendra hissed at her.

"Is this person part of your order?" Scorpious asked interestedly.

"No," Vendra admitted.

"Were m' I goin'?" Alminus asked as he carefully stepped onto the circle.

"Nowhere without us," Vendra answered casually. "Everyone step on and grab hold."

"I wouldn't touch you for all of Sanctuary, sorceress," Piricus said bluntly. "You either druid. You incessantly reek of mutts."

The bear carrying me growled audibly at him in retaliation. I cringed and stiffened involuntarily, though it hurt me tremendously.

"Easy, Gaia," Cloudyous said to her reassuringly and gently patted her massive side. "Piricus, if you refuse to cooperate, I guess you could touch Gaia's side. Technically she's been here and back with me, so the concept should work. Then again, I have no way to tell for sure."

"Yeah and if you don't make it we're not coming back for you," Ryelass growled.

"Come on Piricus, don't be difficult," I protested.

"Hurry up jackass," Vendra hissed as she stepped onto the waypoint, which began to glow brightly.

Despite the protest in my injured body, I stretched myself over Gaia's furry back, grabbed Piricus's wrist, then wrapped my foot around Cloudyous' elbow on the other side. "I've got him, let's go," I said bluntly.

Cloudyous didn't waste any time, I heard him chant something and suddenly I felt it again, the vacuuming sensation. I also felt sick to my stomach once more, and coupled with the misery igniting my body, I actually did vomit. We chose that moment to arrive back in some forgotten corner of Lut Gholien. In my sickened state I slid ungracefully of Gaia's back and fell towards the ground. A strong hand pulled me to my feet as I was about to fall on top of someone.

"Let me help you, amazon," Piricus said icily; I realized it was him I was about to fall on. In a not so gentle move, he maneuvered me so that my ass hit the ground in front of his feet, though it was apparent that he had broken my fall by holding onto me. I hissed in pain and yanked my scratched wrist away.

"That hurt," I growled as I tried to return to my feet unsuccessfully.

"It would have hurt me too if you fell on me. You're not exactly light as a feather, amazon," Piricus said bluntly.

"Is that any way to treat a lady? Seems Lord Rathma's puppies are lacking a bit in manners," came a familiar voice.

I looked up and realized with surprise that I had seen this woman before. It was the woman I had passed on the street a few weeks ago that had warned me about Radament in my head. This time, her voice was physical.

Piricus growled. "And who exactly are you?"

"Adria," Cloudyous said with a sincere respect and bowed before her.

"A strange group," said the woman, Adria, as she surveyed us with hawk-like dark eyes.

"Ya said it ma'am. M' Alminus of Harrogath," Alminus said heartily.

"A warrior of Arreat," she said, looking him over.

"Here, allow me, Chyemme," Ryelass said softly as he made his way over and hoisted me onto my feet.

"And one of Tristram," Adria said, looking at Ryelass intently.

"You know me?" Ryelass asked, looking at her with equal interest.

"It would be hard not to know the brother of Marcus Valarius," she replied simply.

Ryelass got so surprised, he dropped me. I landed with a hiss and Piricus started laughing.

"Seems you can't hold onto a man, amazon," he said sarcastically.

"I don't need one," I growled and struggled to my feet, through I wobbled dangerously and fell again.

"That's really pathetic amazon," Piricus said, amused. "This is what you get for jumping on top of a porcupine."

"You know my brother? Tell me everything!" Ryelass said eagerly, seeming to forget all about me.

I scowled and pushed myself onto my hands, then to my knees. I couldn't even manage to put my own feet underneath myself. It pained me to admit, but those barbs on the claw viper had gone deep. I realized grimly that deep meant through my muscles. I could feel with my innersight the tears in them.

"Get up, amazon," Piricus said, watching me with a sadistic smile.

"I can't," I hissed, trying a final time. My muscles screamed in protest and my wounds began to bleed.

"You've been in a quarrel with Fang Skin, king of claw vipers, daughter of the isles," Adria said looking me over.

"Sharp assessment, witless wonder," Piricus said bluntly.

"Shut it jackass or I'll knock you out," Vendra hissed clearly offended for the woman.

Adria bored her gaze into Piricus and his sadistic smile suddenly vanished. He scowled and growled audibly, then fell silent.

"Whatever you did to him Adria, can you make it permanent?" Vendra asked eyeing him with loathing.

"You will need this wayward pup to defeat Duriel, the Prince of Pain," she said suddenly.

"The who?" Vendra asked, suddenly very stiff.

"My lady," Scorpious began, going deadly quiet himself. "Are you sure?"

"Who are you?" Maria snapped. "Answer that before you answer anything else." Clearly, this woman was very powerful and that unnerved Maria, a lot. If I had to guess, I'd say Maria's psychic attempts to check her out had just failed and she was at a loss.

"My apologies, mage-slayer. I forgot my manners. I am Adria Davoness, many simply call me Adria, the witch," she said simply.

"Witch? Does that mean you are a sorceress too?" Laurella asked curiously.

"A witch is completely different from us. A sorcerer or sorceress use pure elemental magics. A witch is a little of everything, alchemist, mage, and illusionist," Vendra explained.

"Oh, you're going to have a friend for life in the assassin," Piricus said sarcastically.

"Whether she likes me or not means nothing," Adria said simply.

"You said Duriel," Maria said, dangerously quiet. "Elaborate."

"You listen to what she say, Maria? You believe what she say?" Sovellis asked plainly.

"I will listen to her information. I'll decide if it's a truth or a lie after that," she said bluntly in response.

"That is of course, all I can ask for," Adria said politely.

"Speak," Maria demanded none too gently.

"I have news of the wanderer. I met him while he was still human, and I know him very well as few did. You see, I was at the battle for Tristram. I have a gift, not unlike you, daughters of the sisterhoods. For some reason, despite the madness of Leoric, I found myself there. It was there I met the multitudes of warrior amassed at the great Cathedral of Khanduras. Week by week they fought, and none seemed to gain ground, even the paladins of Zakarum," she said, eyeing the cross on Scorpious' armor. "They kept dying left and right, until only three remained. Those three alone were able to descend the hellish catacombs and finally, into hell itself, where it became apparent, what we were dealing with was Diablo, the Lord of Terror himself. They sought my advice and my help in that dire hour, in fact they came to me just shy of the battle. I had little to give them that could aid in such a task and yet, I knew they already had more than I could give them. They had each other and an iron will. Above all else, they had love," Adria said, apparently lost in some reverie.

"That's it? That's really pathetic," Piricus snorted.

"And yet they prevailed," Scorpious countered.

Ryelass hissed loudly. "I hardly call what happened a victory," he growled, balling his fists.

"It is true it may not seem that way to you, young Lord. You lost a loved one. But what your brother sacrificed was the epitome of goodness. You see, the other two lived because of him. And more still, I think it is safe to say, we ALL live because of him. Had Diablo not been stopped in Tristram, hell itself would have spilled into the mortal realm. You see, after his defeat, Diablo was severely weakened. This gave the powers of heaven time to fortify the worldstone and seal us from hell once more," Adria explained.

"Worldstone?" Laurella asked curiously.

"I thought it just legend," Sovellis said, equally quizzically.

"Nah. Tha's a rock-solid true story," Alminus said suddenly. "I would know. Only been hearin' it all m' life n' lookin' up at tha mountain every day."

"I've never heard the legend," I said, slightly embarrassed.

"The worldstone is an object created by the beings of light, supposedly resting on Mt. Arreat in the north that is supposed to keep heaven, sanctuary, and hell separated," Maria informed plainly.

"I see," I answered.

"So where does this leave us?" Cloudyous asked. "Diablo is still alive and roams the world once more."

"That is why I decided to come forward. You see, I left Tristram shortly after the two remaining champions returned. I never imagined that Marcus lived. I have taken the liberty to see an old friend, and he has filled me in on what happened since my departure. I sensed an odd presence when I arrived here a few weeks ago, it felt like Marcus, but I knew something was wrong and this explains it. Call me crazy, but I feel slightly responsible for the sacking of Tristram. I feel I could have done some good had I been there when it happened. So I cannot rest in good conscience until this matter is laid to rest once and for all. I helped create the monster, I helped build Marcus into what he was, so I alone can tell you what I taught him," Adria said quietly. Apparently memories where tugging at her mind.

"That's a heavy burden to bear responsibility such as that," Scorpious said gently.

"Adria, please lend us what assistance you can," Cloudyous asked sincerely.

"You're forgetting about Duriel, whoever that is," Piricus scowled.

"I'm coming to that, my necromancer friend," Adria chided. "Now then. Lord Jerhyn, Elder Cain, and I have all conversed recently and it is our consensus that, as I'm sure you already know by now, he is seeking his brother Baal in the desert. Baal as you know from the legend, was imprisoned within the body of the great mage, Tal Rasha. Baal was said to have a great guardian at his service, Duriel the Prince of Pain. When Tal Rasha was sealed away, Duriel supposedly vanished, but if Diablo manages to free Baal before we get to him, I have every faith that we will see Duriel in his wake," she explained.

"Then we need to get started. As a frasa, I will not rest until I have hunted this monster and seen its end," Nira said stoutly.

"Where do we start? Nira and Ahmad have never been that far out in the desert," Laurella asked.

"Go see Lord Jerhyn, I believe he has another task for you. Come find me when you speak with him, and I will render what assistance I can," Adria advised. "Although you, amazon, should probably accompany me and see the healer Fara."

"I'll do that, but only when I can move," I groaned, struggling once more.

"Before you do anything, esteemed mage," Ahmad said, addressing her with respect and a slight bit of fear, "I believe we will have to find some sort of disguise for this de-" he began looking at Nira. She growled audibly and he quickly corrected himself. "Our saber-cat ally."

"A good idea and one that was already on my mind. Come, lioness," Adria said reassuringly as Nira eyed her suspiciously.

"She's on our side, Nira. She won't hurt you," Scorpious promised.

"What are you going to do to me?" Nira asked uneasily.

"Nothing that you'll notice. Just a little illusion is all. I will make you appear human before mortal eyes and yet you shall remain yourself to your allies and self," Adria assured.

"I don't know," Nira said wearily.

"I'm ordering you to grow a spine kitty-cat. We can't have you walking around with us as you are so just do it," Piricus insisted.

Nira bowed her head. "You are correct master necromancer. I am ready," she said and stepped forward.

Adria nodded and said a quick word as she ran her hand over Nira's body. I felt a wave of energy, but when it was gone I saw no change.

"It is done," Adria announced. "Now, none but you shall recognize her. Go now to Jerhyn."

"Kitty-cat," Piricus said, addressing Nira. "Carry the amazon to this other paladin and make sure she doesn't kill her on accident," Piricus said suddenly, looking at me.

"Master paladin?" Nira asked.

"I agree. We will find you soon, Chyemme," he promised.

"Vendra, I believe Elder Cain wanted to see you," Adria added.

"Fine. I'll go with Chyemme and Nira and catch up with you guys later.

"It's just as well, we'll all need to see Fara at some point and replace our armor that was lost," Maria assured.

"Come, Lioness Chyemme. We will see this human," Nira said to me as she walked over and picked me up in her arms.

"Tha's gonna get some looks," Alminus laughed.

"A girl carrying another girl? Probably," Ryelass agreed.

"Let's go," I cringed as she picked me up.

"Ahmad, you have up-kept your word and returned with us from the desert, you are free to go," Scorpious said, looking at him.

"My lord, I have done you all a great wrong that I have yet to make up for. I will return to Griez only for a short time and will meet you back in town when you are ready for your next task. I will do this mission free of charge," he said, eyeing Piricus, leery.

Piricus saw his look and laughed. "Good call," he said with a sadistic smile before he turned and walked away. The others followed suit, soon leaving only myself, Adria, Nira, and Vendra.

"Fara is this way, lioness," Adria said good-naturedly and led the way.

"I'm going to die of shock," Vendra said sarcastically as we walked.

"Why's that?" I asked, misery wracking my body from every wound as Nira walked.

"Because jackass just asked someone to help you. I think the only way this would have surprised me more is if he did it himself," she replied.

"It seems Master necromancer has a soft spot for you, lioness," Nira said to me.

"I think, and this is just a guess, that he's beginning to trust me," I admitted, "I don't think like plays into it yet."

"Well you like him," Vendra laughed. "You did kiss him after all."

"I was glad to be alive," and laughed in my defense. "But you're right. Maybe just a little although your guess as to why is as good as mine."

"You're both strange," Vendra joked.

"And all of you, all humans, are stranger than that to me," Nira added lightly with her attempt at humor.

"There she is," Adria said pointing to Fara's hut. I could see the paladin at the forge, pounding out something flat. She seemed to notice our presence immediately. She looked up.

"Chyemme, you look awful," she said as she gestured to a mat for Nira to put me down on.

"I feel awful too," I admitted with a pained smile.

"Well, let's fix that," she said, coming over and assessing me. "I'm sorry for the pain," she apologized as she started pressing on my injuries, "I have to assess the damage."

"I know, I've had worse," I said, though in truth I was having trouble recalling a time I'd felt such.

"Chyemme is strong, it will take more than this to bring her down," Nira said with a nod, omitting the usual "lioness" prefix. My guess is that Adria's illusion was working, because Fara didn't seem to think anything unusual of her.

"Ouch!" I hissed as she moved my leg slightly to the right.

"Hmm. This is deep. The tears are in your muscles. What happened?" Fara asked in concern.

"I jumped on top of a claw viper with a bunch of spines trying to stop it," I admitted.

"A bold feat for one with no leg armor," Fara said, though with a soft laugh.

"You can fix it, can't you?" I asked.

"Yes. Hang on," she said, taking a potion from a crate beside her and pouring it into my wound. I felt it go numb for a second, and then I watched in awe as the wounds closed up. Fara ran her hands over me, and I saw the blue light of her healing aura wash over me. The pain abated, and within minutes I was standing on my own.

"Remarkable," Nira said in awe as she watched. "Just like master paladin."

"Master?" Fara asked, raising an eyebrow.

"She calls Scorpious master out of respect," I supplied for her.

"Were you a slave that he freed?" Fara asked curiously.

"Not exactly," I answered.

"Feeling better, Chyemme?" Vendra asked me.

"Yes. Much. I think," I said, returning to my feet and walking over to a rack of armor, "I will use part of my share of the countess' fortune and invest in some heavy armor."

"A wise choice," Nira said to me as she surveyed Fara's wares as well.

"These are made of steel and reinforced with leather," Fara suggested as she removed some metallic leggings from the rack in front of me. "They'd probably be heavy to most women, but you and I are warriors and stronger than most."

"Let me try them on," I requested as she handed them to me. True enough, they did have a definite weight to them, but it wasn't something that would weight me down tremendously.

"They suit you well," Nira said, nodding her approval.

"Lady StrongFist has a remarkable talent for armor fitting," Scorpious said as he rounded the bend with everyone else in tow.

Fara smiled. "A talent I see you are in need of, brother paladin. What happened in the field?" she asked, eyeing his incomplete armor.

"Sand maggot venom," Cloudyous answered, though he had not been there himself.

"You're lucky. It appears as if your armor was all the corrosion claimed," Fara observed.

"Those must have been some nasty bugs," Vendra said with a shiver.

"You telling me," Sovellis said with a nasty look.

"You missed all the fun sorceress," Piricus said with a snide laugh.

"In this case, I'm glad," she remarked simply.

"We don't really have time to share the story, we just need to replace armor and shields, then we need to go," Maria said, walking over to the rack of armor next to me and removing some new bracers.

"Vendra, you still need to see Elder Cain," I reminded.

"Right," she said with a nod. "Be back soon," she said and left us.

The next half an hour was spent on everyone restocking and replacing disintegrated armor. It was a necessary side trip.

"Finally, you're getting some sense, Amazon," Piricus said, eyeing my new armor.

"Those look heavy," Ryelass said, looking me over.

"Not terribly. I think in the long run the sacrifice of a little range of motion will be worth it," I assured.

"Lord Cloudyous," Adria said addressing him, "I believe that you should fortify your armor, the hides of beasts will only prove so useful in this case."

"I'll reinforce it with leather then, metal is slightly distasteful to me," he admitted. Bibo sqwaked and flew a short ways over to another rack of armor. The white stripe on her wing gleamed in the sunlight.

"Adria," I asked curiously, "How were you able to heal her?"

The witch smiled and walked over, patting Gaia's massive side. "A small sacrifice from one on behalf of another is a miraculous thing."

"She took a broken tooth from Gaia's mouth and melded the bone into her body to solidify the wing and then took the rest of the tooth and healed my arm as well," Cloudyous said in amazement.

Piricus raised an eyebrow. "That's actually kind of impressive. That you could mend bone with bone."

"Did you just compliment someone?" Ryelass asked in shock.

"It was just an observation. I could have done the same thing personally. It is just a rare skill to see outside the necromancer temples," he said simply.

"Vendra did say that witches are a bit of everything," Laurella reminded.

"Adria is a far from a necromancer," Cloudyous said defensively.

"I understand the principles. Nothing more," Adria said reassuringly.

"I believe now that we are all armored up, we should regroup with Elder Cain," Scorpious suggested, lifting his new shield onto his arm.

"Are you alright now, Chyemme?" Ryelass asked me.

"Fine. Let's go," I assured as we made our way to the heart of Lut Gholein to meet Elder Cain.

Vendra and Ahmad were there waiting for us along with the Elder. Elder Cain saw us and gave us an approving nod.

"Well done my friends. Surviving the desert was no easy task I'm sure. And I see that your mission was a success. Allow me," he said, opening his hands to Sovellis, whom respectfully placed the shaft of the Horadric staff in his aged hands. There was a light in the old man's eyes upon the contact.

"Incredible. There is no mistaking it. This is a piece to a horadric staff. And I see that you were also successful in recovering the headpiece. That's the viper amulet you have in your hands, Maria," He said, appraising it.

"Elder Cain, we've also got the Horadric cube," Laurella said, pointing to it, where Alminus pulled it out of his bag.

"Then you have everything you need. When the time comes you must unite both parts of the staff within the chamber of the horadric cube. Only then will you possess a key to Tal Rasha's burial chamber. I trust Lord Jerhyn has spoken to you?" the old sage asked.

"Yes Elder," Ryelass said respectfully.

"What did he say?" Nira asked.

"He wanted to check in with us and commend us for a job well done so far. He wants us to go see Drognan, the Elder," Ryelass answered.

"A respectable man. He is very wise," Elder Cain informed.

"Agreed. I believe I know that which he will speak to you on, but go see him first, then come back to me. I should have everything I need prepared to help you then," Adria promised.

"Follow," Sovellis said with authority and led the way.

"Mind your tongue jackass to my Elder or I'll rip it out," Vendra hissed.

"Good luck getting that close to me, sorceress. You can't even make static fly," Piricus taunted.

She hissed, but Sovellis grabbed her arm and pulled her in front to walk with him. Together the two magi led us down the twisting and turning streets of Lut Ghloein, stopping at last to rest outside a small building. A man in a red turban and red robes came outside. He looked to be only a bit younger than Elder Cain, but it seems he had lived a better life, there weren't quite as many lines on his face.

"Elder," Vendra and Sovellis said together with a bow.

"Sovellis, it is good to see you safe. You also Vendra. These are your friends I trust?" he asked in a gentle voice.

"Friends would be stretching the truth to the point of breaking," Piricus said bluntly.

Vendra glared at him, but Drognan just laughed.

"A necromancer is among you? Well, it makes sense for you to say such things. Most of your kind keep to themselves, I'm surprised to see you in this group," the old mage said lightly.

"I had no choice," Piricus scowled.

"My dear fellow, there is always choice. This is the gift of the divine," he answered simply.

"Old man, I have little respect for those that pretend to know everything and even less for babbling mages. Be out with what you have to say," Piricus said rudely.

"Eager for battle? For that is what awaits you still," the old mage said, still with that same smile.

"Elder, Jerhyn said ya wanted ter see us?" Alminus asked respectfully.

"I did. I know that you are searching for the tomb of Tal Rasha and I may have a lead for you," he informed.

"Anything would be helpful," Scorpious said politely.

"As I'm sure you're all aware, especially you, mage-hunter," he said to Maria, although not impolite, "these lands were rife with magical energy. In the distant past, this place was a gathering point for mages all across Sanctuary. Some of the more well known were Bartuc and Horazon," he began.

"You mean the most infamous," Maria said coldy. "They started the war that destroyed the mage clans and caused our order to form."

"That is correct. And I assure you they find little reverence among the mage clans of today. I merely bring this up because one of the mages, Horazon, was a known demon-summoner. He practiced twisted arts and bent the forces of hell to his will. As such, it would come as no surprise to me if Horazon knew the location of Tal Rasha's tomb," he began.

"He is dead. Of that I'm positive," Maria said icily.

"That is true, mage-slayer. But, like many, remnants of him can be found if you know where to look. Horazon was supposed to have kept a journal, a book of secrets, deep in his lair, a place called the Arcane Sanctuary. Rumor has it that the city of Lut Gholien was built directly over it in fact, but we have yet to locate it. If you could somehow enter the arcane sanctuary and find Horazon's journal, I have every belief that the way to Baal would be revealed," Drognan explained.

"Vendra, Sovellis, this is the final part of your initiation quest. Find this journal and learn the way to Tal Rasha," he added.

"What do you want us to do with the journal when we find it?" Vendra asked curiously.

"They will not be bringing it back," Maria said bluntly. "There is too much dark knowledge hidden in there that needs to stay lost. I will not allow such evil knowledge to resurface into practicing magic," she said, deadly serious.

"Peace, Mage-slayer. We are of the same mind. Though knowledge about such things might bring about more information on how to destroy them, I agree in the fact that such things would be way to tempting to most mortals, myself included. I would ask that you uncover the locale of Tal Rasha's tomb, then burn the diary so that it stays lost forever," he said gently.

Maria nodded. "A wise decision."

"So where do we start looking for such a place?" Ahmad asked, looking around himself.

"I have spoken with Adria and she has agreed to help us. Come, let us go to her," Drognan said simply and began walking with us through town.

We followed the elder mage until we came to the very outskirts of town. A small house, definitely out of the way, was built out of the wall.

"Come in," Adria said, poking her head out of the doorway. "Such things as we are about to do are best not done in a public street."

"Agreed," Drognan said simply and disappeared into the house. We all followed him inside. It was a small space at best, lined with odd objects and trinkets. Bones of various creatures were lying around along with runes and goblets. There were a multitude of jars lying around full of various things. Most prominently, there were candles everywhere. I noticed that there was a circle of them on the floor and a strange arcane symbol drawn on the floor between them.

"Come, everyone into the circle, on your knees," Adria instructed as we did so. Surprisingly, Piricus did as he was told, though he snorted.

Once we were cramped into the tiny space, Adria and Drognan stepped in the center and held hands.

"Arcane forces of old, we come to you, seeking aid," Drognan said, closing his eyes.

"Grant us the ancient sight to track this quarry," Adria added. "With this sacrifice, give such gifts to the hunters," she added, then she and Drognan began chanting.

I let out a sharp breath as out of nowhere something cut the top of my hand and blood began to drip from it. I noted in wonder that the same mark had appeared on everyone's skin, even Nira and Ahmad. I watched, perplexed as our blood suddenly took on a life of its own and swirled together like mist, before flowing onto the floor and disappearing within the lines of the symbol drawn there. Moments later, the floor smoothed over and became as a looking glass. I could clearly see the interior of a grand building. There were bodies all over the floor as the vision raced down a set of stairs, across more carnage, then more stairs. There in what appeared to be the very bottom of this place, was an archway with glowing plasma between the pillars. I heard a loud screech and suddenly an enormous monster with many arms appeared, blocking the vision. It roared and suddenly and its ruby-red eyes flared, before the floor returned to normal.

"What was that?" Laurella asked, a little shaken.

"They call him Fire Eye, he was one of Horazon's most devout minions. He guards the way to the arcane sanctuary. To accomplish your objective, you must defeat him," Drognan answered.

"Where is that place?" Nira asked, confused.

"Kind of obvious, kitty-cat," Piricus said bluntly. "The only one wealthy enough for that kind of dwelling is an emperor."

"Correct, necromancer. Though Lord Jerhyn has been reluctant to speak about it, I believe if you approach him in your enlightened state and tell him what you have learned, I'm sure he will grant you access," Adria assured.

"So tha's where all tha city guards 'r goin'," Alminus said in revelation.

"And why they hired Griez and his mercenaries to guard the city. They were all tied up in the palace," Cloudyous furthered.

"They look like no do so well. Many dead," Sovellis said, stating the grim observation we had recently witnessed.

"All the more reason to go to Jerhyn immediately and end this violence," Adria answered.

"Hurry," Drognan urged.

Belthem gave a stout bark, and accompanied by Gaia and his pack mates, led the way out of the dwelling. Everyone left, soon it was just me and Vendra.

We stepped out into the light, and could vaguely make out the other up ahead.

"Jeez, I didn't think I was that slow," I grumbled.

"Wait," Vendra said suddenly as she whirled around.

"What's wrong, Vendra?" I asked in concern.

"Don't you hear that?" she asked, straining to listen.

"I don't hear anything," I admitted.

"You wouldn't, because it sounds like—it can't be," she mumbled. "Come on," she insisted and without warning she took off like a firecracker around the corner in the opposite direction.

"Vendra!" I insisted in worry as I chased her around the corner.

"It's a current! A pure current! I can absorb it and maybe get my magic back!" she said intensely from in front of me as we raced into a dark alley. "Lord Cain advised me about them!"

Sure enough, as we rounded the bend, there was some strange force at work. I focused my innersight, what I saw scared me.

"VENDRA!" I shouted and grabbed her arm. That was all I had time for before I heard a maniacal laugh and we were both sucked through some sort of energy vortex into the blackness beyond.


	12. Chapter 12

AN: Hey guys, I apologize for the enormously long wait. My life belonged on the Jerry Springer show for the last few months and some of the things that happened sent my emotional well-being into the depths of Hell. But I am happy to say I'm recovering now, and will do my best to update more often. Thank you all so very much for your support, without you guys I probably would have given up.

Sins of the Sorceress

Chyemme

It was dark all around me at first, though through the darkness I could clearly hear someone or something moving around. My head hurt terribly. Maybe I could see with my innersight. I focused and reached out with my mind, disoriented though I was. It was almost as if I had been hit with a hammer. The backlash that followed my attempt was a swift and terrible one. I heard myself cry out in pain and a nasty voiced laughed in response.

"If you wish to see, daughter of the isles, open your eyes. Your mental gifts will serve you poorly here," a high voice said coldly.

"Chyemme! Chyemme wake up!" a voice urged. It took me a moment in my mental stupor to recognize her voice.

"Vendra!" I exclaimed, as recollection came flooding back to me. My eyes must have snapped open, because my vision came back, though it was fuzzy at first.

When I could see clearly, I thought I must have been dreaming. This certainly couldn't be any real place in sanctuary. We were on a stone platform with stairs leading to several ones around us, some above and some below. And, all of them, including ours, seemed to be suspended by nothing. There was no ceiling or floor, no walls, and no sky. All around us was black and inky, save for weird suspended balls of stationary light. It was almost as if we had been trapped in the night sky.

"Wha-?" I started quietly.

"Welcome to my arcane sanctuary," the same cold voice from before answered.

I tried to look that direction, but my neck was incredibly stiff, as was the rest of me. I realized, looking down that I was tied to a pillar by some sort of magical rope. The shimmering red rings around my legs and arms were not only restraining me physically, but spiritually as well.

"Figuring it out, are you?" the voice said again.

"Regrettably," I hissed.

The voice laughed again, before someone moved into my line of vision. To my surprise, the voice had come from what appeared to be a child. The figure was only about four feet tall, and to further my surprise, this newcomer also seemed to be completely human; an occurrence that had never happened to our group previously. Up until this point, everything we fought against had been a monster of some kind. I couldn't see this person's face; it was concealed behind an ornate golden mask adorned with intricate amethyst swirls. The mask donned two ram-like horns at the top, one in each direction, each holding a variety of gemstones. This person wore long purple robes embroidered with gold swirls and held a long, vibrant golden staff that was giving off a sickly orange light.

"Who are you?" I demanded. "What do you want?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Vendra said quietly. Similarly, she too was suspended on a pillar. "We're in his sanctuary. This is Horazon, the infamous demon mage and summoner."

I blinked. "You?"

The figure growled audibly. "Yes, me."

"But, Maria said you were dead. Along with Bartuc. You two killed each other in that terrible mage war," I recalled.

"Bartuc was an idiot," the person laughed.

"So are you, if you think you can just kidnap us like this. Our friends are on their way now, I'm sure of it," I retorted.

"Your friends? Ah yes. Well, I wouldn't worry about them anymore. There is now way they can get in here, and even if they could, they'd never make it to us," he said icily.

"Well, if you're not using us for hostages what do you want from us?" I shot back.

"Nothing from you yet, daughter of the isles," the man named Horazon replied bluntly. "No, my attention belongs solely to you, sorceress," Horazon said, focusing on Vendra.

My sorceress friend hissed at him defiantly. "Me? I'm not doing anything for you!"

"Not me, my dear," he said, his voice carrying some odd tone. "It is something you must do for yourself."

"What the hell are you talking about you little midget?" she snapped.

I laughed despite the circumstances. "Vendra, you sounded like Piricus just now."

"Sad part is, I'm starting to think like him right now. I'm thinking of all the ways I can get rid of this little asshole," said replied back.

Horazon looked at her with steely gray eyes behind his mask. "Then enlighten me, sorceress. What are your ways?"

Vendra blinked. "You want me to tell you? Man, jackass would love you. You listen to people you don't like talk?" she snarled.

"I never said I didn't like you," he said plainly. "In fact, if I didn't like you, you would not be here," he continued.

"Excuse me!" Vendra coughed.

"I agree," I snapped. "Kidnapping people off the street, bringing us into some odd dimension and tying us up is a poor way to show affection."

"Yep. You and jackass would definitely be great friends," Vendra sassed.

"Hmm, the necromancer and myself? The only connection we might share if that of the dark arts," Horazon countered.

"How'd you know Piricus was a necromancer?" I asked curiously, though with a growl.

"I know all about your little group. Especially you, esteemed sorceress," Horazon said, walking over and bowing, though he was so short he almost hit the floor. "Or should I call you Vendra?"

"That privilege is only for people _I_ like," she retorted sharply.

Horazon laughed. "I believe, Vendra, if you and I were to spend some quality time together, you would come to like me a great deal."

"I don't need a boyfriend," she snarled. "Especially a little freak like you."

"You have a quick tongue, but an equally quick mind. Excellent for the arcane arts," he praised.

"Man, you have a harder head than Alminus! Get a clue!" Vendra growled.

"You've yet to hear my reasons for bringing you here, Vendra," he said patiently.

"I don't care! Let me and Chyemme go or I will blast you back into history with Bartuc!" she snarled.

Horazon laughed coldly. "An an empty threat, my dear. I know you have no magic to speak of."

"You little bastard, I'll kick your ass with my hands and feet!" she continued defiantly.

"Such are poor methods for those as us. You were meant for much greater things," Horazon said with a snort.

"How would you know?" she scowled.

"Because I have seen that which will be, and that which was. It was your mighty magic that destroyed the demon Queen. You were a great magess, I want you to be so again," Horazon said simply.

"This isn't making sense," I growled.

"She's right. Let me get this straight? You want to help me? Help me to do what? Get my magic back?" Vendra said venomously.

"That's right," Horazon said, nodding.

"Why?" Vendra asked, surprised the same as me.

"Perhaps it is because I see myself in you. I was once stripped of all power, just like you. And like yours, my power was immense. I once believed in serving the greater good. I once believed in serving the Horadrim. I believed it, until the day the Horadrim betrayed me. You see, in those days, we were not strong enough to seal the three away by ourselves. No, we had to rely on the powers of heaven, moreover the archangel Tyreal and his mysterious soul stones. I never liked this; neither did many of the others. We should have been able to seal them ourselves, after all this is our world. I argued that we needed to find a stronger power, that we as humans should be able to stand up for ourselves. We shouldn't be dependent on either heaven or hell. In fact, I argued that the human race was strong enough to conquer hell. I believed that we could conquer demons and bend them to serve us, that would give us the edge we needed over the prime evils. To take their own strength and throw it against them," he said powerfully.

"A dangerous strategy," I admitted. "Demons are chaotic."

"This is true. But under a strong master, there eventually comes order from chaos. Of course, as one might expect, Tyreal and the other heavenly powers despised the idea. My brethren thought it might merely be because they are angels and demons are, well, demons. But I, I believed something more sinister of the higher powers," he continued.

"Tyreal and his likeness have always watched over us!" Vendra snarled.

"Have they?" Horazon asked, a cold chill coming to his voice.

"Yes!" Vendra and I hissed together.

"Wrong!" he said powerfully, "And I'll tell you why. Have you ever stopped to think that maybe protecting us, as they call it, was really their way of controlling us? Just what are they protecting us from? Once the prime evils vanished, the influence of heaven did not. There are many legends that we are taught, Vendra, that tell of strange, angelic forces guiding people away from the resting places of various "dangers". There was one such legend, the legend of Mai Miou. Do you know it?" Horazon asked Vendra politely.

"Yes," she grumbled.

"But your amazon companion does not," Horazon said, peering at me icily. "Tell her your version," he requested.

"Chyemme's not a toddler, and I really don't think she wants to hear any tall tales right now. As she's already pointed out half-pint, we're in pain and tied to posts," she growled.

"My apologies," he said briskly and for some odd reason my ties loosened so that my limbs were no longer immobile and stiff. "Perhaps a looser rope will loosen your lips."

"Just do it, Vendra. I have no idea where he's going with this," I sighed, though part of me was undeniably becoming intrigued.

She looked at me and sighed. "Mai Miou was a Zhan-esu mage, like me and Sovellis. She was in many ways, what Lord Rathma is to the necromancers. She was our founder, and the only one to ever achieve the purest elemental magic. Legend says that Mai Miou lived in a village much like the one I grew up in, she had humble origins. A harsh winter descended on her village one year, the likes of which had never seen before. The winter was unnatural, it lasted many years, and many people died. The village was becoming a frozen, forgotten wasteland and everything Mai Miou loved was almost gone. There was an artifact, one that was supposedly forged in heaven itself, called the "hou jikin", which in your language would be translated to " great fire of the sky". It was a torch, that carried with it what was said to be the very first flame," she began.

"The legend tells that the resting place of hou jikin was a mountain named "virikjin" or "sky spire" and that it stood taller than Mt. Arreat. This place was close to Mai's village, but was rumored to be guarded by a terrible demon that slaughtered indiscriminately. After losing her mother and brother and having only her sister left, Mai vowed to put a stop to the cursed winter. Mai journeyed to sky spire and confronted the demon," she continued. "But . . ." she furthered, then stopped, something apparently donning on her.

"But what?" I asked, confused.

"What she found was not a demon, but an angel. An angel named Izual," she said quietly.

"I don't understand," I said with a blink.

"Let her finish," Horazon snapped.

I fell silent as Vendra resumed. "Izual warned Mai that the flame was evil and could not be taken from its resting place. Mai was going to heed the angel's advice and leave, but the hou jikin seemed to call to her. Mai pleaded with the angel, and told him of the troubles in her village. The angel was touched by her story and her sincerity. The angel told Mai that he would let her take the hou jikin if she could defeat him. It was a long battle, and Mai used every magical ability she had ever been taught. Mai almost died, but in the end, she won because she managed to call the hou jikin into herself and used it to fend of Izual," Vendra explained.

"It was said that the angel admitted defeat and allowed Mai to leave the mountain with the hou jikin, which is said to be the first flame. Mai used the flame to stop the endless winter, and it is legend that Mai spent the rest of her life spreading fire to the human race, giving the gift of warmth and hope to all people," Vendra concluded.

"So, what's so sinister about that?" I asked, trying to draw the conclusion Horazon was making.

"So, you two wouldn't know this because you have not been inside the minds of demons, but do you know what happened to Izual?" Horazon asked.

"No," we both said together.

"You wouldn't. You see, according to the demons, man was never meant to have control over fire. The angel, Izual, was the guardian of the sacred flame that was only to be used by the powers of heaven. The angels were afraid of what would happen if the human race gained power over fire. That demon killing people was actually that angel Izual. The hou jikin was not evil, we all know that much, even the demons. The powers of heaven said it was because they did not want humans to obtain it and sent one of their 'powers' to guard it. Aren't they supposed to be protecting us? To be helping us? That doesn't sound like help to me, it sounds like control. And, as for Izual, it is said that he went on to lead an assault against the hellforge during the battle with the prime evils. He was captured and twisted into the very thing he hatred most, a demon. And, did heaven send someone after him? No. They did not. Do you think it was coincidence that the assault on the hellforge failed and he was taken prisoner? I don't," he said eerily. "I think it was his punishment for failing the will of heaven and letting fire escape heaven's control."

For moments afterward, Vendra and I didn't speak. I was the first to break the silence, a strange resilience in me. "That is the truth from the source of all lies. That is the truth as spoken by demons."

"There is truth in both sides of a story, nothing is black and white, daughter of the isles," Horazon said coldly.

"How does any of this relate to you?" I asked, becoming irritated.

"It has everything to do with me, daughter of the isles. I learned this knowledge, and shared it with a few of my brethren and then we all began to wonder, what if, after the prime evils had been vanquished, the powers of heaven were to turn on us? We would have nothing to defend ourselves with. I thought it would be a wise investment in our future to be able to vanquish demons on our own and to bend them to our will. That way, in case heaven turned on us as they did Izual, we would have a powerful weapon at our disposal. For that reason, I began to study the demonic arts, for years I trained myself to become a force that could organize the demonic chaos. And I succeeded. I called an army of demons from hell to fight for the horadrim at a critical moment in a battle we would have otherwise lost. I saved them, but as I'm sure you already know, they turned on me instantly when the battle was over and cast me and all my lot out with me. The rest, the war with the mage clans and my brother Bartuc is history," he explained.

"That's disturbing," I growled.

"Yeah, but it's kind of logical," Vendra admitted grimly.

"And, tell me this, either of you," Horazon asked, extending his question to us both, "Am I human?"

"I don't know," Vendra confessed. "Chyemme?" she asked me uncertainly.

"He is," I said, unbelieving the fact myself.

"How is that possible with all that demonic magic you've been exposed to?" Vendra asked. "Everyone else we've ever met went crazy or warped instantly."

"Weaklings," Horazon said bluntly. "Weaklings every last one. I am exceptional, and so are you, Vendra," he started.

"I can see your point of view about what happened to you, but what has any of this got to do with me?" Vendra asked with a scowl.

"You will be great. Greater even, than I. With training, you might be able to control Duriel, the prince of Pain, into serving you. Then you could enter the tomb of Tal Rasha," Horazon said with inspiration.

"The tomb of—what? Seriously rat-hound, what the hell are you talking about?" Vendra snapped in confusion.

"Was it not your original intention?" Horazon asked simply, unoffended by her insults.

"It was, but what would you gain from this?" I asked suddenly.

"My logic is simple. The enemy of my enemy is my friend," he said dangerously. "If Vendra can reconnect with her magic, under my tutelage she will become strong enough to even bend some of the lesser prime evils into servitude. This would be a mortal blow against the three, and against all who would challenge the human race."

"How is it that I am even capable of something like that?" Vendra asked, exasperated.

"Because you have broken through the barrier of magical restraint, the fog of control has been lifted off of you when you became as one with the ancient magics," he explained.

"Yeah, I broke restraints and so everything I had went out the window," she hissed.

"Your powers are not entirely gone. Think of them as a dog on a long leash. The dog may disappear around several corners and streets, but in the end, the master is still holding the leash and is still connected to the dog," Horazon explained.

"So what do I have to do to make them come back? Whistle?" she asked sarcastically, not unlike something Piricus might have said.

"Hardly. This dog will only return under special commands. A request will not be enough; you must demand they come back. You must be aggressive, and I will teach you how. If you want to save your powers we must begin quickly. You still hold a connection, but it is diminishing quickly," Horazon urged.

"How can that be? I've felt the same all this time, like I'm not losing or gaining anything," she admitted.

"That is because you have allowed another to become your source of stability, and the bond at first was working as a balance, keeping you both even. But now you have become as a lead weight on your end of the scale and are dragging him down with you. To be blunt, your bonded's magic is now tied to yours and if you lose much more of your connection, his magic will disintegrate into nothing as well. Neither of you will ever cast another spell in your life, and, as tied into the arcane as both of you are after your transformation, losing your connection completely will also sever your spiritual connections," he said bluntly.

For a moment, Vendra's face went very pale.

"Vendra?" I asked quietly. "What does he mean? I thought you could live without magic?"

"I can," she said gravely, "but not without my spiritual energy. My spiritual energies are what connect me to this plane of existence. Chyemme, if I lose those . . . I'll die," she said silently.

"That's right," Horazon said simplistically. "You'll die. And you will take your closest friend with you. Do you want that to happen? Ask yourself this," Horazon continued. "Even if you refuse my aid and you did die, could your soul ever fully find peace knowing that you took the life of the one dearest to you? And not only that. You will have failed him and your friend Ryelass. You would have had a priceless tool to aid him in his fight, but you chose not to. Are you so afraid of being weak that you will not try to do something powerful? Do you not have confidence that you are strong enough to conquer Duriel? Have some ambition and I promise you I can make it reality," Horazon reasoned.

The look on Vendra's face was unreadable and that scared me. "I," she began.

"And, let's not forget the most important thing of all," Horazon said, a cruel tone in his words, "You mustn't forget dear old Annah. She trusted you," Horazon taunted. " She trusted you to protect her and you weren't strong enough."

I had absolutely no idea what Horazon was talking about, but it was taking an enormous toll on Vendra. "That's not true! I was just a kid! Just a kid! There was no way I could have saved her!" she said, starting to shake for some unknown reason.

"That's not true and you know it. You were strong enough, but you're having the same problem you had then. You're afraid. You're afraid to try because that which would have saved her was dangerous!" he said, smacking his staff against the floor to put emphasis on his words.

"It's not true!" she shouted.

"It is! But that was in the past. Overcome it! Come with me and I will teach you how to ensure something like that will never happen again!" Horazon urged.

"There has to be another way!" I growled. "There has to! Vendra, don't listen to him, this is madness. This man is a monster! Nothing good can come of this!" I shouted and struggled fiercely to get free.

"Silence!" Horazon thundered and my ropes suddenly wrapped around me so hard that they began to constrict my limbs.

"Vendra!" I snapped, struggling even harder.

"Give up priestess, you're useless!" Horazon continued and without warning, the ropes started to burn, causing me enormous pain.

"Stop!" Vendra shouted at Horazon desperately, watching me. "Stop it!"

"Or you'll what, Vendra? It's the same as it is then. You want to save her, but you're too concerned with following the rules. You're too concerned about doing something dangerous," he said sinisterly.

"If you stop it right now, I will go with you! I'll learn what you have to teach me, JUST LET HER GO!" Vendra shouted desperately.

"No!" I snarled. "Don't you dare!"

"You have a choice this time, like you did before. What will it be this time? Have you learned from the past?" Horazon said icily.

"Yes!" Vendra insisted. "yes I have and I will pave way for the future of myself and my friends!"

"Swear it! Swear it in our language!" Horazon demanded.

Vendra cringed and hesitated. The ropes around me squeezed so hard I felt like my head was going to pop off.

"Vendra! What do you think Sovellis would want?" I tried out at last with the last of my fading breath. "What would he do?"

I saw a tear slide down her cheek. "I don't know," she whispered. "I can't ask him. I haven't been able to since we left. This mess is all my fault, you were just trying to help me, just like the monastery was all my fault and Sovellis was trying to help me. And Annah . . . No. It will never happen again. Let me down, master Horazon," Vendra said respectfully.

"Ah, an understanding. Some things must be lived to be learned. As you wish, my dear," he said gently and snapped his fingers. The magical ropes binding Vendra faded into nothing and she fell onto her knees. She stood up, and walked over to Horazon calmly.

"Swear and we shall be on the way to your recovery," Horazon said with a nod.

Vendra bowed her head and said a sentence or two in some strange language. The sickly light from Horazon's staff wrapped around them both for a minute, then the demon mage nodded.

"Very good. You will benefit greatly from this, you have my word. Come my dear, let's get started."

"Vendra! What have you done!" I shouted in horror.

"I had enough from you, daughter of the isles," Horazon said in boredom and with a flick of his wrist I felt all my energy fade and I started to black out again. Zerae, tell me I'm dreaming . . .I thought desperately. But, I knew in my heart this was really happening and that this time, this might be all my fault. If I hadn't been here, Vendra wouldn't have done this to protect me. Horazon was right. I really was useless.


	13. Chapter 13

Unaware

Piricus

A strange feeling came over me as I walked behind the group. Something was already wrong and we hadn't even gotten out of sight from the witch's house. By Trag 'Oul I was beginning to wonder if anything I did would ever be straightforward and simple anymore.

The assassin seemed to notice the odd vibe along with the sorcerer. They abruptly and simultaneously stopped walking. That could mean only one thing. The sorceress. I was wondering why everything had been so quiet.

"What happened?" the assassin asked the sorcerer quickly.

"I not know. I can no hear her," he said gravely.

"What are you—" the warrior began.

"Vendra's gone!" the rogue exclaimed suddenly in surprise.

"But she wers righ' behind us!" the barbarian said, looking around.

"In case none of you ever noticed, those bringing up the rear of a group are usually the first to disappear," I said simply. "This doesn't surprise me. That woman disappears more times than an invisibility cloak," I said flatly.

"Not just her," said our saber-cat, sniffing the air at the same moment the druid's gray mutt did. Both could apparently smell the other and they wrinkled their noses at the same time while sharing a mistrusting glance between them.

"The amazon's gone too," I remarked simply.

"I don't understand," our mercenary said uneasily. "We're still in town and all of you have already destroyed the monster Radament."

"It wasn't the doing of a demon, we would have sensed it," the druid said truthfully.

"Could have been a friend of yours, assassin. We all know how much you love the sorceress. And how your kind relish cutting down people when they're defenseless," I laughed, giving her a cruel smile.

"Be quiet," she snarled. "No one of my order would just randomly kill an innocent person, and no one has been given orders to kill her to my knowledge," she hissed.

"To your knowledge. That's a good cover-up, assassin. Claim ignorance. Then maybe the others won't suspect you if the sorceress ends up dead and then the paladin can offer you some worthless words and fake salvation for your equally superficial conscience," I laughed.

"Feisty one do no wrong. There no reason for mage-slayer to hunt her," the sorcerer said, a sour expression coming to his face.

"Unless the assassin told her friends here about what happened at the monastery," I said with a snort.

"Friends here?" the warrior asked.

"Yes," I said casually. "There's a large group of them here somewhere. This city might even be their base of operations. I think the sorcerer might even have felt them too, though it's just a guess. You two magi seem to be oblivious to everything; otherwise you wouldn't have lost your useless nag just now. Sorcerer, I don't know how you could be so careless now that that bitch's life is tied to yours," I smirked.

"I get uneasy feeling, that is true. But I no think that mage-slayer responsible. Why they attack her now? Why they wait if they know what she has done?" he asked, that same nasty look on his face as he turned to the assassin.

"Were you not listening?" I scoffed. "It was because she was at the rear of this little group and defenseless."

"But that still don' explain why Chyemme's missin' too," the barbarian added.

"She has no connection to magic, why would they have anything to do with her?" the rogue asked.

"Because she was there and assassins don't like to leave witnesses," I offered truthfully.

"Maria, what's going on?" the rogue asked her uneasily.

"It wasn't someone of the Viz-Jaq'taar, of that I can assure you. What Sovellis said was the truth. If any of them perceived Vendra to be a danger, they wouldn't have let her enter here to put the people at risk and they wouldn't have let her live so long. They would have killed her quickly and she's been alone many times before now. And besides, I didn't mention the monastery incident to anyone," she said bluntly.

I laughed. "I'll bet you didn't because they would have killed you for letting her live."

"We're not necromancers, we don't kill, especially not each other, for the pleasure of seeing death," she retorted. "But she's not dead. If she was, we would know. Sovellis would dead too."

"What happened moments ago will be important to figure out later, but right now, it is the present we need to focus on. We need to know where they are now," the paladin said gravely.

"Can you sense your cub-mate at all, mage of the dark skin?" our saber-cat asked.

"No," he said, with a distressed look on his face.

"What about Chyemme, Laurella? You have innersight, can you feel her anywhere?" the warrior asked.

"That would be like asking her to find a grain of sand on the entire coast of an ocean," the assassin said bluntly. "There are thousands of people in this city alone, and we don't know for a fact they are even here anymore. You might as well ask Laurella to scan the entire world."

"Or, you could ask your necromancer to find her," came the voice of the witch as she surfaced behind us.

"Adria?" the paladin asked in surprise.

"I sensed dark magic," she said in reply.

"Good work," I growled. "Just like everyone else."

_"Be quiet, young man_," an entirely mental voice said to me. I felt my lip curl. This wasn't the first time the witch had been in my mind.

"How can Piricus find them when we can't?" the rogue asked curiously.

"Because he has shared a deep connection with the daughter of the isles," the witch responded simply.

"What?" the warrior asked disbelieving.

"I agree," I snorted. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Well, she did kiss you in the monastery, didn't she?" the rogue asked dubiously.

"She what?" the warrior asked in disgust.

"You didn't get so see anything that went on down there, you were all out cold," I said bluntly.

"But I hardly believe a kiss has that kind of power," the paladin said with confusion.

"That is true. But he has shared her life force," the witch continued.

"Out with it already. What are you trying to remind me of?" I asked, irritated.

"When you first met her, you used a curse on her that took some of her life energy out of her body and transferred it into yourself," the witch said simply.

"You used a curse on Chyemme?" the warrior snarled.

"Yes," I said, recalling the event on the amazon isles. "I'll definitely say she was much more useful back then."

"Bastard, I'll rip you apart," the warrior continued.

"Then we not find her," the sorcerer said, realization dawning on his face.

"I see where this is going," the druid said, nodding. "When you cursed Chyemme for whatever reason and healed yourself using her energy, you transferred it into yourself," he began.

"Thank you, genius, for that establishment," I said sarcastically. "I've used that curse many times before and there's no way in hell I'm connected to any of those beings."

"I'm not finished," he said, dismissing my snide remark. "Tell me Piricus, have you ever left anything you used that curse on alive before?" he asked curiously.

"Let me think hard," I said snidely. "Not a chance," I snapped.

"I thought so. But, you let Chyemme live. Intentionally or not, I don't know, but since she is alive, that energy within you is alive still and has a connection to the original owner," he deduced.

The witch nodded. "You are correct, Cloudyous."

"What a nightmare," the warrior growled. "He can't use that connection to hurt her can he?"

"Is it like the connection Vendra and Sovellis share?" the rogue asked in concern.

The assassin grinned. "I wish you could see the look on your own face right now, Piricus. You've been tied to someone else all along and you didn't even realize it."

Adria shook her head. "This connection is small and seemingly inconsequential. They do not have power over one another and they are not joined in souls. The connection is merely like holding two ends of a string. With a slight tug, no matter where the other end is, they shall be able to find it. They will be able to sense each other's presence if they strain hard enough, nothing more," the witch explained.

"Warrior, I agree with you. This is a nightmare," I snarled. "If I kill her, then what?" I asked sourly.

"Then her energy will cease to live and the connection will fade. Since you have your own ample energy and have long since healed whatever wounds you had, there will be no effect on you," she answered.

"Hmm. Well that solves that problem," I grumbled.

"Don't you dare hurt her!" the warrior hissed in furry.

"Yeah. If ya even try, alla us will kick yur ass," the barbarian agreed.

"That's what you say," I retorted.

_"You say that, but you don't mean it. I know you wouldn't kill her,_" the witch said in my mind.

_"How would you know?"_ I snarled back mentally. _"You're not me. Do you have any idea how much this could come back and bite me in the ass? This could also turn around and bite her in the ass too,_" I pointed out telepathically.

I heard a chuckle with my ears and my mind. The witch was laughing, making everyone look at us oddly.

"What's so funny?" I growled with my physical voice.

_"Do you realize what you just said?" _ she said gently with her ethereal voice in my mind.

_"Of course, I'm the one who said it!_" I snapped telepathically.

_"You just included her well-being in that statement. You said it could come back to hurt her as well,"_ she said in amusement through our mental link. "_That statement implies that you'd let her live."_

_"That's not what I meant!" _ I hissed.

_"Oh, I think it was,"_ she teased.

"Nothing that needs be said," the witch replied with her physical voice, giving a response to everyone else's questioning glances.

"So I have the ability to find her," I said icily. "Why should I? What do I care if she and the sorceress die? That would let someone else take care of this little problem," I spat.

"Because if they die and you could have helped save them, I will tear you apart!" the warrior hissed.

_"You'll do it,_" the witch said with that same, annoying amusement._ "You'll do it because you're concerned about her. You will not admit it aloud, but you consider her your friend. You're so concerned with appearances you think if you show the slightest amount of consideration or concern for someone else that makes you a prime target. That is not true. But, you're extremely stubborn . . .extremely. So that will have to be a lesson you learn on your own. You are deluding yourself. So much so that you won't admit this either but you know you also might—" _she began.

"SHUT UP!" I shouted loudly, refusing to let her finish her statement either aloud or in my mind. I would kill her for real if she had the nerve to say that to me, and especially anyone else.

"What's the matter Piricus? Losing your cool?" the warrior laughed. "No one said anything."

"That's not true," the assassin said, watching me carefully. "Adria did. In his mind."

" Well, it wasn' somethin' he liked," the barbarian laughed.

_"She didn't hear anything,_" the witch assured as she followed my gaze to the assassin. "_I made sure of it."_

_ "You expect a thank you? This is only my head, bitch! Get out of it now before I channel a nasty visitor into yours!" _ I snarled psychically.

"_As you wish, though I daresay I'm having fun. Lord Rathma, he is as sly as ever,"_ she said cryptically and then I could physically and mentally feel her presence withdraw from me. That part unnerved me slightly, but not as much as what she had been about to say.

"Let's make a deal then, Piricus," the witch offered. "If you will take part in this rescue and aid the others, I will let Lord Jerhyn know you had a special part to play and I will also remove this link from you and Chyemme when the two of you return. Think of it this way as well. I do believe that Chyemme and Vendra have gone somewhere that will help you all achieve your overall objective. If you maintain this tie to her for now, you will not get lost and know exactly where to find her," the witch suggested.

"Well, the self-centered reasoning for this would be that we get this done faster," the druid said with a smirk.

"I'm all about efficiency at this point," I growled. "How the hell do I do this?"

"Focus, feel the energy patterns within your body. When you find the aberrant one, concentrate your focus on it. It should be like a fish on a line," the witch explained.

I did as told. Being a mage, you become increasingly aware of yourself and what energies you are using. As she said, it didn't take me long to distinguish the amazon's from my own, though I was extremely confused and unhappy as to why I hadn't noticed this before now. It seemed like I was suddenly being pulled in a downward direction. But something was odd. The energy was crossing some sort of barrier, one with immense magical power.

"Joy," I grumbled.

"What's wrong? Where are they?" the paladin asked eagerly.

"Only in the arcane sanctuary," I said snidely. "Well, at least the amazon. I've got no clue where the sorceress is."

"The odds are good they are still together. Let's hurry," our saber-cat urged.

"I agree. Let's go to Lord Jerhyn now," the paladin answered.

"Not a word," I snarled at the witch as I hastily made my way past her and everyone else.

We followed the warrior, whom seemed to know the city well, and soon we stood before a towering building with high dome ceilings and a golden roof. The staircase leading up to the grand doors was immense, and made of heavy slate stone. I spotted the young emperor walking off to the side of the staircase with several guards heading onto a nearby street. These must have been actual guards, they wore maroon tunics and gray pants under thick black leather, studded with iron. All of them wore cloaks with a gleaming gem on an imperial crest.

"Lord Jerhyn!" the paladin called out quickly and strongly above the everyday din of people going about their daily routines.

The ruler turned his attention to us immediately. "Ah! Heroes! Well done on vanquishing Radament, you have my thanks, and the thanks of the city's people," he said brightly, though you could tell something was bothering him.

"It was our pleasure," the paladin said with a quick bow.

"It would not call that pleasure in any sense of the word, paladin" I said rudely.

The young emperor laughed uneasily. "That much is probably very true, Lord Necromancer. What can I do for all of you?"

"We need into the palace, my Lord," the paladin said without further delay.

The emperor's face became grave. "The palace?"

"We know that the mage, Horazon's, arcane sanctuary is underneath it and the way in lies in your palace. Two of our friends have been teleported inside already and we have no idea how it happened, but we must find them quickly along with another object of importance," the paladin explained.

"Two of your friends?" the ruler asked seriously.

"Yes and they are probably in trouble," the rogue pleaded.

"This way," the emperor said and we all followed him up the stone steps to the side of the palace door, away from the ears of unwelcomed listeners.

"I have been hesitant to speak of this, but now that the lives of your friends are resting on this I must speak the truth. When the troubles first began here, I allowed the terrified harem guilds to seek safety in the palace. Everything was going fine until one night I heard an extreme commotion going on downstairs. My guards rushed to their aid, and when they got there, they found the poor girls being slaughtered by a mass of terrifying demons! Apparently some sort of hellish rift had opened into one the lower levels. Now that you mention it, that rift is probably connected to the sinister arcane sanctuary. My guards tried to stop the creatures, but they were no match for them. I've had to seal off most of the palace while the remaining guards stand watch on the top level of the inside and around the perimeter. That's why I've hired Greiz and his mercenaries to keep an eye on the rest of the city, I simply cannot allow the evil from my own palace to spill out into my beloved city! But, you are all strong. Stronger than any soldiers I can possibly hope to employ. I believe that you are capable of handling the dangers that are ahead and beg of you heroes, if you can, please defeat the evil plaguing my home and seal off the portal spewing monsters into our midst. If you can do this, then return to me. Drognan, Elder Cain, and I have something important to tell you," he implored.

"We will," the paladin assured and hurried to the doors where two guards were waiting. The emperor gave them both an approving nod.

"Beware what lies ahead," one said to us wearily. "We have no idea when the demons will strike next."

We hastily made our way past them into the grand entrance hall of the palace. All the walls were made of pure white granite, and the floor was an expensive polished marble. Thick pillars of granite lined the long hallway, supporting the high ceiling, made entirely of gold. Along the sides of the hallway where various pictures, some painted in high quality oils and framed in precious metals. The walls also donned various tapestries, made from expensive silk thread no doubt from they were shining in the dull light. Various scenes were depicted here; nothing really important caught my eye. Statues of gold and silver lined inlets in the walls, and beside those were braziers burning steadily.

At the end of the hall was an enormous circular room made of the same polished granite and the same striped marble floor. There was a large throne at the very end facing the hallway we had just arrived through; the seat cushion was red velvet as was the backing of the chair. The rest was imperial gold and etched with grand designs. There were two windows in the room, high up on the walls on both east and west sides of the room, letting in the desert sunlight so that the light crisscrossed onto the golden throne and made it shine with a seemingly divine radiance.

There were two tapestries underneath the windows on each side. One depicted several regal-looking men of various ages, most likely the emperor's ancestors. On the other side, the tapestry depicted several women of nobility, a strange thing in this day and age. Usually only men were honored enough to have royal portraits painted for them and displayed in throne rooms. Several lush cushions lined the circular wall in a horseshoe shape from the throne; my guess was those were seats for advisors and guests. This room was also impeccably clean. It seemed ironic to me that something so in turmoil could be so calm on the surface. I could feel the death energy beneath my feet as well as I could feel water under a boat and I could also feel the amazon's energy, faint though it was when I honed in on it.

There was a small rectangular door off to one side of the west wall, there was a sole guard next to that. He gazed at us oddly as we walked by, though he said nothing and gave us no challenge. The hallway was much like the main one, only narrower. It had several more windows set higher up on the wall as well. Under these windows were more inlets in the walls with various pieces of quality pottery. There were a few scattered benches with rich feathery cushions placed at strategic intervals, nothing out of the ordinary. Two guards were on either side of the door at the end of the hallway, one I noticed had a bandage on his arm and the other had a nasty scar on his neck.

"More soldiers?" the one with the scar asked skeptically.

"Not exactly," the warrior said politely.

"Hmph," the one with the bandage growled, eyeing our mercenary. "You're Greiz's dogs. Does Lord Jehryn think so little of us now he's sending that fat bastard's minions to do our job?"

"I'm nobody's dog, fool," I said staring him in the eyes. "And apparently, you all can't cut it for this job or I wouldn't be here, which is a sad statement because your job is just standing here and you're all banged up. Get out of the way," I said simply.

"I don't take orders from you!" he snapped and lowered his spear.

"You won't take orders from anyone anymore if you don't move," I growled and grabbed the end of his spear, pushing back hard. He stumbled into the wall with the slight force. "Pathetic, I remarked simply.

"Bastard, I—" he began, then stopped cold. An irritated growl behind me moved him out of the way quickly.

"Patience, Gaia," the druid reprimanded the enormous grizzly, which obviously didn't like sitting still.

"Is that a bear?" the other guard asked, leery.

"No, it's a bunny," I said sarcastically.

"What did ya think it was?" the barbarian asked curiously.

"I thought for a second that it was another Dune Beast," he answered. "If those break through up here . . ." he said with a shiver, trailing off.

"They won't," the druid assured. "We'll make sure of it."

"Whatever you say," he said disbelieving.

"Lord Jerhyn sent us, please let us pass," the rogue said politely.

"Better them than us, Fhajim," the one with the scar said apathetically as he looked at us.

"Good attitude. Maybe that's why you're still alive," I said bluntly as I walked by.

The next corridor was the same as the other two in grand design. At the end there was a group of guards, all armored to the teeth with reinforced platemail over their shoulders and legs in addition to their leather armor.

"What's this?" one asked.

"Do not give us trouble," our she-cat said automatically. My guess was the witch's disguise was still in effect, no one questioned her appearance.

"Wasn't planning on it," the man responded. "Trouble usually comes from the other direction," he said, pointing down a flight of stairs barred at the entrance with a thick iron grate.

"Your pride-mates gave us trouble," she responded.

The man looked at her strangely. "What?" he asked in confusion.

"She probably means Fhajim and Cartlan," another said simply.

"Yeah, you'll have to excuse them. Both of 'em where on the last watch that wiped out ten of us. They're still a little edgy," the first man said.

"And you're not?" the rogue asked him curiously.

"Not really. We've probably got another couple of days before the demons try their way up here again," he answered.

"Why's that?" the warrior asked.

"It usually takes them that long to stop fighting over the corpses of us they kill," he said bluntly.

"Charming," the assassin said with a snort.

"Wow, what a pretty lady," one of the men said eyeing her. "You want to stay up here with us?"

"I'm not here for your entertainment," she said bluntly.

"Too bad, because you stand a better chance up here," he added.

"Hardly," she snorted.

"Just sayin'," he added. "The pretty ones were the ones that went first outta all those harem girls."

"Which is why you're still alive," the warrior said coldly.

"Hey, you didn't even see this little darling here," one of the other men said, eyeing the rogue. He reached out to touch her arm and the druid's gray mutt jumped by her side and snarled viscously.

"Don't touch her," the druid said simply, "or he'll rip your arm off."

"I'm impressed druid. Your animals are finally stepping up the food chain," I said, watching them. "They're all really pissed off," I said, eyeing the three mutts and the bear.

"They say something's about to happen," he said, drawing his club from his belt.

"What's that you say?" one of the guards asked quickly.

"Watch-!" the rogue began, but it was too late. She flinched in surprise as a monstrous clawed hand exploded through the bottom of the floor and grabbed the man's leg, pulling it off. Blood spewed everywhere and the man screamed in agony. It didn't take long for the rest of the beast to break through the floor and finish him off in its jaws.

It was a strange creature and I had never seen anything like it. It was gorilla-like in the body, it had four limbs with thick, rippling muscles and as the creature pulled itself onto a solid patch of floor and began running, I noticed it moved like a gorilla as well, dragging its knuckles. The creature was black like a gorilla over its body, but then a greenish-yellow in the face, hands, feet, and tail. The creature's limbs ended in reptilian hands with long claws. Its head was blunt and scaly and its eyes were orange like a hawk's with the same type of pupil. The head may have been short, but the maw was wide and deep when the thing opened its mouth to roar at us and lined with hooked, shark-like teeth in multiple rows. The creature also had a long, crocodilian tail that had several sharp ridges along the length and a blade at the end.

"DUNE BEASTS!" one of the guards yelled as about five more came flooding through the ruptured floor.

"Move!" the druid warned and tackled the rogue out of the way as one surfaced underneath her feet. The monster opened its reptilian maw and went after them as they both hit the floor and it almost managed to get the druid's foot. The grizzly slapped a massive clawed paw down on the creature's head like a hammer and the force pressed the creature into the floor, stunning it momentarily. The creature returned to its mobility in seconds and retaliated with a slap of its armed tail into the grizzly's furry side.

The grizzly went flying sideways, having acquired several cuts in the side. The creature returned its attention to the druid, but the rogue shot it in the eye. This made the creature halt for a second, then blink. The arrow hadn't even put a scratch on the eye. The druid blasted the dune beast in the face with a bolt of freezing air, which didn't do much more than turn its gums blue.

The druid's three mutts jumped on top of the creature at intervals, one on its head, one on the back and one on the tail and started biting down ferociously, but it was like trying to bite metal armor. The druid and the rogue returned to their feet, but the beast gave a huge shake like a dog shaking dry and sent all three mutts flying into walls or the floor like feathers.

I heard more screaming, two of the dune beasts had caught a few more guards and were tearing them limb from limb. One of the monsters had cornered the paladin and he was slicing out with his sword at every place that might have been vital, but he might as well have been hacking down a grown oak tree for all the damage he was doing. The creature lashed out with several limbs at once, and one strike caught him in the chest. He went flying backwards into a wall as the beast closed in on him.

The paladin conjured one of his ethereal hammers, which spiraled out in front of him protectively, and to his credit the spiritual weapon smashed directly into the creature's face knocking it off him at the exact second it grabbed him. It didn't knock the creature very far and it lunged for him a second time. The paladin ducked and the creature smashed violently into the wall, kicking up a cloud of mineral dust from the broken wall.

The creature breathed some in and snorted, it was enough of a distraction for the paladin to jump on top of the creature. Golden light wrapped around us and I felt that same strange magic of the paladin's strengthen my limbs. The paladin gave a mighty battle shout and brought his sword overhead. He made to slam the sword point first into the creature's neck, but the only aspect he succeeded in was making contact with the creature's skin. His sword made a scrapping sound and a spark actually flew from the friction as the sword glanced off the side of the monster.

Intelligibly, the creature tried to roll over on the floor and crush the paladin, but he quickly abandoned his position. Another of the creatures came up behind him, pinning him in the middle. They both lunged and he ducked. They smashed headfirst into each other and collapsed on the floor next to him, disoriented.

The assassin had actually taken the liberty of trying to help the people whom had insulted her earlier. She was, like the paladin trying to play rodeo with a dune beast as it bucked and flailed. She would time her strikes carefully, but like the paladin as well, nothing she did even scratched. She even charged her katars with lightning and repeated her assault, but the fur of these things seemed to give them insulation. At least, that was my perspective, seeing as the sorcerer was also trying to electrocute a monster charging at him to no avail.

The two that had attacked the paladin were up and on the attack again, both of them were striking at once. The paladin was blocking with his shield, but the creatures were working together and succeeding in pushing him back toward the wall. The saber-cat leapt into the air and brought her spear crashing down. Her weapon actually hit the hide of the beast and broke.

Annoyed by the distraction, one of the creatures turned to snap at her. Like the bear, she took to using her cat-like claws and she swiped the side of the creature's face, turning it away from herself. She growled, though from pain or frustration I couldn't tell, the creature had no wound and she had just broken one of her claws down to the base.

The dune beast crashed into her sideways, using a muscular shoulder and actually managed to land on top of her. The barbarian saw this and quickly moved to help her. He grabbed the creature around the neck and yanked roughly backwards; though the neck of this creature was so wide he only had half a hold. He managed only to pull the immense creature back an inch, stopping its next attempted bite into the she-cat about an inch from her face.

"Ryelass, come get 'im buddy while I've got 'im!" the barbarian yelled as he struggled fruitlessly to restrain the creature. Well, that was no surprise. If the druid's bear hadn't been able to hold its own with brute strength I didn't expect him to be able to.

True to an idiot, the warrior raced over to help the gargantuan man at exactly the wrong time. The creature gave a final lurch and flung the barbarian into the warrior. Both of them hit the floor in a heap.

I turned around when I heard the low growl. One of the creatures was stalking behind me, getting ready to spring. I blasted a poisonous bolt into its face, and to my surprise, it took a deep breath inhaling the poison. Moments passed and nothing happened. That had been useless. Apparently these creatures had some sort of filter in their lungs.

"Now you're getting on my nerves," I hissed and I jumped hastily sideways as it sprung onto the spot I would have been only moments ago. I loosed a teeth spell at it as a test strike, after all, the sorcerer wasn't having any success or the druid. Not surprising, my magic didn't have a great effect either, though it did some minor visible damage. These things were way too strong. But I could fix that.

"Time to bring you crashing down," I growled and threw out the energy for the curse I was casting. I felt for the creature's muscles and the energy they were giving off. Using some of my own energy, I began to disrupt the flow until I could visibly see the weakness building in my opponent.

"Let's try this again," I said sarcastically and blasted another barb of energy into the monster. I hissed in aggravation. My spell clearly seared fur and burned flesh, but it was still superficial at best.

The creature lunged unexpectedly and managed to knock me over, but as it went to bite me I kicked it hard in the face. My curse had at least given me a little bit of leeway in combination with the paladin's aura. The creature stumbled upon the impact and I was able to physically push it away from me with another strike of my foot, but this was only an effective defense. I could block blows all day but in the end I needed to make at least one offensive strike of my own to win. I needed to be stronger.

I chanted another curse, channeling that magic through the superficial wounds I had caused earlier. The skin began to visibly decay as my necromantic energy spread over the surface of the monster's hide. This should be what I need.

The beast lumbered forward and I blasted it again. This time, the bolt went through flesh and into underlying tissue. I put more energy into the spell and slammed my entire hand into the creature's left arm above the elbow as it tried to strike me. Combined, my two curses were working wonders; the creature's arm came completely off.

It shrieked in pain as demon blood poured over the floor. I used my dagger and jammed it under the creature's chin up to the hilt and twisted. More blood washed over my hand as I yanked the dagger free, expecting the creature to die or at least fall over.

The dune beast did neither. It smacked into my waist with its enormous head furiously. Like the druid's bear I went flying through the air and my back hit a wall, knocking the breath out of me. I looked up and hastily yielded aside as the paladin crashed sideways into the spot I had been a nanosecond ago. He coughed.

"Get your own space, paladin," I said crossly.

"Doesn't look like there's going to be much of it going around," he snarled as the rogue landed at his feet with a thud.

"Laurella are you alright?" the paladin asked quickly as she groaned and picked herself up.

"They're way too strong!" she groaned as three of the monsters, including the one I had injured, ganged up on us against the wall.

"Look Scorpious, that one's injured!" the rogue exclaimed, pointing to the one I had been dealing with moments ago.

"Yeah little girl, that was me. Seems I'm the only one here competent enough to even land a blow," I growled.

"What did you do to it Piricus?" the paladin asked quickly, assessing the damage.

"Something you can't paladin," I said bluntly. "You are only capable of cursing in one way," I taunted, "and according to your precious dogma, that's a sin too."

"Stop sassing me for a minute," the paladin demanded, eyeing the three monstrosities closing in on us. "Tell me what your curse did."

"Isn't it obvious paladin? I weakened it first, then diseased it's skin so my strikes were more effective," I snorted.

"I think I have an idea," the paladin said, pulling the rogue to her feet and positioning her with him behind his shield.

"Anything you can do I can do better," I said, raising an eyebrow as I watched him.

"Piricus," the paladin began plainly.

"What's wrong, paladin? I only speak the truth," I countered irritably.

"Cast your curse again," he said, though I could clearly tell he despised the idea of asking for my necromantic magic.

"Say please," I laughed sarcastically and prepared to move as the creatures crouched.

"Please," he said apathetically.

"Okay then, since you asked nicely," I said snidely and washed my siphoning energy over the dune beasts.

"Laurella, use your innersight now," the paladin instructed.

The rogue focused her eyes on her opponents, and I saw the star-like lights manifest from nowhere. I snorted as I realized that her energy balls were following the trail of my curse and upon contact to the enemy, they were further disrupting the demons' flow of energy. They were twice as weak as before.

"Honestly you're both pathetic," I said, drawing energy around my hands. "You can't do anything without me."

"This is a team effort," he said simply and I felt the auras around us change.

"Only because you're next to me," I sassed. "I could have taken all three by myself."

"Blast with everything you have and this should be quick," the paladin said, ignoring me completely. I could feel the effect of the paladin's magic wash over the demons and through us.

"Now!" the rogue announced as she loosed two arrows in rapid succession into the head of the one off to the right side. I blasted the one I had already dismembered and the paladin smashed his shield into the one in front of him, then thrust his sword under the shield and impaled the demon in the chest.

Our combined attacks dealt our respective foes considerable damage. The rogue's arrows managed to skewer her demon's mouth shut and the other impaled it right between the eyes. My teeth spells had eaten a hole in the creature's side and one more in its chest.

"Did we do it?" the rogue asked uneasily.

"No," I said with a growl as all three of them failed to die and jumped at us.

"How are they still alive?" the paladin asked dismayed as all three of us lunged forward, rolling underneath the demons.

The rogue had a strange look on her face when she found her feet. "They don't have hearts!" she exclaimed in shock.

"Little girl what are you talking about? They have to, they're alive and they have solid matter," I scoffed.

"No! I saw it when I was on the ground just now. I saw into that thing's chest. There's nothing there, no heart no veins or anything!" she insisted.

"So they don't have a heart?" the paladin asked. "But they have to have a brain, why is the one that you shot still alive?"

"It' obvious isn't it?" I said simply, eyeing my opponent carefully. "They're control center is obviously somewhere else dimwits," I concluded.

"But where?" the rogue asked.

"Duck!" I heard the barbarian yell loudly.

I turned around to see the barbarian and the she-cat work together with great difficulty and toss a dune beast into the ones in front of us. The four creatures jumbled together on the ground, but managed to regain themselves quickly. They had amazing balance for things so big.

"There has to be a weakness!" the warrior said, exasperated as he and the assassin took turns striking at the sides of a monster.

"I'm trying to find one!" the druid exclaimed quickly. "I've never seen anything like these creatures!"

The sorcerer and the mercenary were also trying in vain to double-team the remaining monster. I noted with disgust that the remaining palace guards had fled. I watched as a demon smashed its bladed tail into the mercenary. One of the spikes went through his armor off to the side and became lodged there. I saw blood began to flow from the wound as the creature began thrashing, pulling the mercenary with it into the air impaled on its tail.

The druid's bird flew to the mercenary and began furiously pecking at anything it could reach on the exposed underside of the monster's tail. Of course the attacks did no damage, but I did notice something strange. The moment the bird starting attacking the creature's tail it slammed the mercenary back onto the ground, covering it.

The assassin noticed it too. She lunged for the monster, vaulted over its head and landed on its back. She positioned her katars at an angle and plunged them under the monster's scales while charging them with lightning. The attack was a success; her blades plunged deep into the monster's tail, impaling it through the base. The creature shrieked and wailed as blood spewed everywhere and after a few moments, it was stilled permanently.

The assassin used her other katar to cut the creature's tail cleanly off, revealing the monstrous purple heart of the creature she had impaled with her weapon. There was a plopping sound as the assassin dislodged her weapon from the dead monster's heart.

"Gross," the rogue said simply.

"But effective," the warrior said. "Alminus do you think you and Nira can-?" he began.

"I'm up fur it if ya are," the barbarian said to the she-cat respectfully.

"Of course. These beasts will not get the best of a frasa!" she insisted and together the two of them managed to pin a massive creature between them while the warrior struck the creature a mortal blow under the scales and through the heart in its tail like the assassin had done.

"This is your last breath," I said to the monster the paladin had run through in the chest as it approached me hungrily. I conjured a bone spear and loosed it directly through that spot like a bull's-eye. The ethereal talon of Trag 'Oul gained speed and power, and it sailed through the monster's open wound through the rest of its body completely and embedded into the monster's hidden heart from the inside. It gave a defiant roar before it died.

The second monster that had attacked us lunged for the paladin. He yielded aside carefully and sliced the monster's tail off completely with ease, this creature was still cursed with my magic and the rogue's.

The dune beast I had injured earlier came back towards me. I raised an eyebrow. "I admire your dedication," I said sarcastically. "You will make a wonderful minion in the next two seconds." It lunged again futilely, exposing the underside of its vulnerable tail and I blasted a hole into the base, killing it.

The rogue cast her innersight over the remaining monster, enabling the sorcerer and druid to work together to form an ice bolt twice as strong before the sorcerer loosed it into the monster's tail.

"Are you alright, Ahmad?" the paladin asked, hastily making his way over and helping him dislodge from the monster's barb.

"I have been better," he grumbled and exhaled sharply as the paladin removed the barb. The paladin pressed his armored hand over the wound in the mercenary's side and blue light washed into the wound, healing it.

"Thank you," the mercenary said sincerely and returned to his feet.

The paladin nodded. "Cloudyous, does Gaia need me to fix her side as well?" he asked, looking to the druid's bear.

"She seems fine now," the rogue observed, there seemed to be only dried blood on the bear's fur and some superficial scratches.

"She is, don't worry about her," the druid assured, placing a hand on the bear's massive side.

"That was a pain in the ass," the warrior growled, looking around at the carnage.

"But in the end," I laughed and raised the six of them anew as skeletons, though they were not human I was able to give them a human shape with a few minor odd angles and bones. "They will serve a far greater purpose. That's what happens when you mess with me," I said ironically to the one that had been so set on me in life.

We all noticed the sound at the same time.

"Nira," the assassin said quickly, though she and the saber-cat seemed to be of the same mind. The she-cat took a bottle of choking gas from a pouch at her waist and tossed it into the hole in the floor the monsters had created at the same time the assassin yanked a potion off her belt, pulled the pin and tossed the fire bomb into the hole as well.

The explosion that followed was intense, the gas had acted as a combustible agent, giving the fire in the bomb an enormous amount of additional power. We could hear the dying sounds of several more dune beasts below.

"Look out!" the rogue cried in alarm as the floor beneath our feet suddenly gave way and crumbled. Apparently that explosion had knocked the supports loose. We fell through the floor about twenty feet and still had another ten to go. It was going to hurt severely if we hit bottom falling this fast. The druid said something and out of nowhere something wrapped around my foot and stopped my fall. I was suspended in the air with my nose hovering about a foot above the ground.

Looking up, a strange tan-colored vine had grown over the side of the far wall of this room and swiftly spread to the remnants of ceiling and all of us were dangling by some extremity or other. My skeletons had hit the bottom, but I noted with pride they were still intact. It would take a lot more than that to finish them. The vine began to lengthen, slowly setting us all down.

"Thanks Cloudyous, tha' wers close!" the barbarian exclaimed truthfully.

"No problem," the druid assured.

"Where did that vine come from? The saber-cat asked curiously. "I did not sense anything around."

"It's actually the roots of a desert cactus growing outside the building," the druid informed. "But now I have imbued it with the spirit of the sands and given it the gift of mobility. It will accompany us on our exploits down here," the druid announced.

"Amazing human of the fire-hair. You can command a vistrl with no legs to serve you!" the she-cat said in awe.

"Vistrl?" the warrior asked curiously.

"They are things that do not move and they are usually green. I don't know how to say the word in your language," she supplied.

"The word in our tongue is "plant"," the druid said politely.

"Plant," she repeated. "Interesting."

"Where we now?" the sorcerer asked, looking around.

"Must be the harem," the assassin said, looking around at the carnage. There were bodies strewn across the floor haphazardly, some of them guards, some of them scantily clad women. This place looked like a tornado had gone through here a long time before we ever set foot inside. Tables and chairs were upturned and broken, wooden and metal debris from their once grand frames littered the ground next to the bodies in some parts. Pottery and fine china chips looked like dust lying around. There were forks, goblets, and plates of fine metals askew from the tables everywhere. There were feathers too that looked like snow in some places where the rich velvety cushions lining the room had been torn to shreds. The remnants of ruined tapestries fluttered on the walls as a stray piece of stone from the ceiling smashed into the floor next to them, ending the cave-in completely. They flapped weakly for several minutes after the rock had settled; it was as if it were some type of pitiful salute to us.

Candles were scattered throughout the room too and the last portions of an intricate chandelier were smoking feebly in the center of the room atop a mass of people it had fallen on like some grotesque banner of conquest. There were a few demon bodies in the room too that I had failed to notice, though they were few and far between. Some of the more competent guards seemed to have been able to take a demon or two out with them. Most of the demons though seemed to have been crushed beneath the floor as we fell or died in the explosion moments ago.

"Wow, it was a massacre down here," the rogue said quietly.

"Well, I wouldn't concern yourself too much, Rogue. Apparently these people were engaging in sinful activities and were most likely common harlots. It's your God's punishment against the wicked, right paladin?" I said sarcastically, gesturing to the large disaster all around us.

"Any loss of life like this is a cause to mourn and an even greater one because most of these souls probably had no chance to repent while they were alive. I highly doubt that this was a punishment of God; I do not believe he would use demons to massacre a group of people in such a terrible fashion. God is a God of mercy," he said regretfully, looking around.

"Or so you say," I retorted.

"I do not say, I know," he said simply. "There will be a time to pray for them later, when all is said and done I will return here and see if I can help some of their souls achieve redemption. Right now it is the living that need us most," he replied.

"Paladin, I think I might fall over in shock. You just said that this is not a good time to pray! Your skills with time management seem to be improving," I applauded sarcastically, making my skeletons clap to emphasize the point.

"It not time to pray, because it time to fight!" the sorcerer said quickly and dispatched an icy bolt into the darkness at the edge of the room.

His bolt was met by another icy blast from somewhere else. The two spires of ice crashed into each other and exploded into diamond dust. Several more bolts of energy came flying our way of various elements, and out of the darkened portion of the room came several black skeletons slinking towards us calling a loud battle cry that only I could hear.

"Geez, we haven't even gotten off this forsaken floor," I growled, kicking the remnants of the ceiling out from under my feet. My skeletons clashed against six newcomers, with the contrast between my undead and theirs apparent. Black and white battled each other with bone shields and axes on my half, the others had actual weapons of steel.

The rogue took expert aim and fired into a skeletal mage on the right, taking off an arm it was using to cast with. The sorcerer and the warrior were battling the undead mages at long range, both where flinging spells into the crowd. A few of them fell, but there still a lot of them. I used my own energy and blasted into the crowd.

I saw the druid's bear lumber into the crowd of enemies and bash through them like a staff through porcelain along with the mutts that were streaking off the side and biting into more. All in all, we were killing them easily. That bothered me, seeing as nothing we did ever seemed to turn out easy.

"We got this," the barbarian said with a snort, slicing into two skeletons at once with his enormous axe.

Several intense ripples of energy washed through the area, hitting all of us. My vision wavered for a second, and that's when I realized that this attack wasn't physical. It was like I was in some sort of haze, my head was spinning and I was extremely disoriented, but otherwise unharmed.

Some of the others started thrashing around and crying out loudly in confusion. I darted my gaze in every direction, trying to find the source of this power. Not surprisingly, it was coming from the black skeletons. They had given off some sort of sonic cry. I watched as several skeletons came out of the darkness more clearly into view. They seemed to be growing larger, and somehow were changing appearance too. Like some type of illusion, they began to flicker and change shape while I was still dazed. It was odd, because they couldn't seem to find a coherent one. I made to raise my hand and blast them, but I found that for some reason I was paralyzed.

Somewhere to my right, someone screamed. The sound of it echoed in disembodied waves and I didn't know who it was coming from. What was going on? I felt like I had consumed ten too many glasses of northlands ale, my body was frozen and my mind was in some sort of sluggish stupor.

The others began yelling, though like before I had no idea what was going on. I vaguely was able to make out a distorted black mass flying towards me. I realized what it was, it was the hand of one of the skeletons, but it suddenly warped so that it looked like a human hand. The hand looked female, and I vaguely thought I recognized it. Another wave of energy put a red leather bracer on the arm. That had to be the amazon, but I didn't recognize why I would be seeing this.

I grappled with my stunned mind fiercely, trying to move my immobilized body. I managed a half step sideways, or at least that's what it felt like, I couldn't say for sure. Something hit my left shoulder fiercely, making me stumble. I saw another ebony hand swing at me, this one warped too. The hand was masculine this time and had a black tattoo on the palm, one that looked exactly like mine when it appears. The hand had a long scar on the inside of the wrist. I was confused and moreover, I was startled. That hand belonged to my father, though I hadn't thought about him in a while. My father's hand hit me square in the jaw, and I found myself looking at the floor, or was it a wall?

I saw the glint of metal, and suddenly I was looking up at the form of the assassin. Her katars were poised to strike me. I hissed. How appropriate, she was trying to finish me off when I was defenseless. I tried to kick her, but my foot wouldn't move. I tried to blast her with an energy spell, but my hand wouldn't move either. Hell, my mouth wouldn't even move to curse her. She brought her katars smashing down and my heart skipped a beat. How pathetic was this? To die unable to defend yourself? To be useless? I didn't want it to end like this, and come to think of it, I didn't want to die. I couldn't do anything but watch my doom approach me and for a second I felt a twinge of fear. What was going to happen? Would it be like I was taught, and my soul would return to the cycle of being? This was the first time it had happened in a long time. It was the first time in a while I had been afraid. And somewhere I faintly felt regret. Maybe the witch had been right. Maybe I really might have . . . .

"No!" I snapped fiercely, fighting through my emotions and this weird mental block to my mouth.

I felt one of my own skeletons nearby. I knew I had to make it quick if I could. I struggled fiercely, hoping the words would be enough and my natural energy would perform the spell. I wasn't going to die, and I especially wasn't going to lose to this assassin bitch. A white mass fell over me and I heard a faint ominous sound from somewhere as the assassin came crashing down on my shield. It held for a moment, then broke apart, my mind was no longer capable of sustaining it and my line of slight was moving sluggishly in several directions at once. She pulled her hands back again, ready to end my life.

I heard something as a slur from someone else far away. A powerful force washed over me and I could see the white-blue light even in my hazy vision. My vision began to instantly clear. In a blink I was in control of my entire self, body and mind and I was back on my feet. The form of the assassin vanished, leaving a black skeleton in her place. I looked down and noticed a strange wavy pattern to the ring that was rippling around me. The paladin.

I didn't have time to worry about him or this new magic. Newly focused, I grabbed my dagger and decapitated the skeleton which was about to strike me with a sword. All around me I could see the others finishing off various skeletons that had closed in around them and with the final whiz of an arrow, the rogue killed the last of the group.

"What the hell was that just now?" the warrior barked, stunned. He checked himself over, and I noticed that he had a cut in his upper leg.

"I have no idea," the druid grumbled, "but it was almost as if my . . ." he trailed off. I noticed with surprise that his animals also seemed to have been affected by whatever this spell was.

"Worst fears were in front of my eyes," our she-cat said quietly. She had a puncture wound in the top of one of her furry feet, seeing as how she didn't wear shoes I guess one of our enemies had struck a blow there.

"Was it you? I wasn't aware that I did anything wrong!" the mercenary said to me like a whipped dog.

"I had nothing to do with this," I said bluntly, "seeing as I would never be affected by my own curse."

"It was those skeletons. Piricus do you know what they were?" the rogue asked, shaken.

I suddenly laughed sourly. "They're called horrors," I recalled, wondering how in the name of Trag 'Oul I hadn't thought of it sooner.

"I'll say," the barbarian grumbled.

"They have a strange psychic ability that disorients the mind and then warps them into the thing you fear most. You're paralyzed by your own mind and entrapped by your own fear," the assassin answered. "Almost exactly like a necromancer's terror curse," she added nastily.

"I didn't do it," I hissed.

"No one said you did," the paladin answered, holding his wrist and twisting it so that it made a popping sound. It had somehow gotten injured. In fact, all of us seemed to be injured, except the assassin.

"What this aura? How we break free?" the sorcerer asked, touching his ring.

"Paladins can call upon the divine to give them the gift of concentration," the paladin offered.

"It saved our asses," the barbarian said thankfully.

"Indeed," the mercenary agreed.

"Let's go," the assassin said, scanning the area. "The stairs are over there," she said, pointing to a small iron-railed set of stairs off to the side.

"I'm going to scan the areas we go into," the rogue said with a shiver, "So that this doesn't happen again."

"Good plan," the warrior said appreciatively as we all walked to the stone steps and walked downwards.

I was disgusted with myself as I descended the stairs with the others. Worst fears? So was I afraid of the assassin? How could that be when I'd killed seven people just like her? That didn't make sense. No, I thought. It wasn't the assassin. It was the fear of being helpless. It was the fear of being weak. When I thought more about it in the next moments, it was beginning to make sense with what the witch had said earlier. I was afraid of being weak. Concern for myself certainly wasn't weakness, but that must have been why I saw the amazon's hand at first. Concern for someone else makes you weak, and that is what I apparently am afraid of. Then there was my father. . . . I had never wanted to look weak in front of my father. The very thought was revolting.

"Useless . . ." I said under my breath and for some reason I had a flash of the amazon's face in my mind and whatever connection to her I had seemed to be drawing me further down. "Useless?" I scoffed so that none of the others could hear. "I don't think so," I vowed to myself.


	14. Chapter 14

Into the Arcane Sanctuary

Piricus

"Okay, so before we go in, Laurella are there any of those skeletons in there?" the warrior asked as we all reached the bottom of the stairs into the next level of the harem.

The rogue concentrated and I could see a trail of stars going into the next room. "No," she assured. "In fact, I don't see anything ahead of us."

"Well that's reassuring," I said sarcastically.

"Well, there's the next staircase," the druid said, pointing down the narrow corridor about a hundred feet.

I clapped my hands together sarcastically. "Great! Who wants to go first? The rogue said she doesn't sense anything."

"Maria," the paladin asked, scanning the sides of the dark corridor, "Can you detect any traps?"

The assassin scoured every inch of what was in front us carefully. "No," she said after a minute.

"Just li' that?" the barbarian asked dubiously. For once I didn't blame him.

"It seem too easy," the sorcerer agreed, leery.

"Well maybe it is," the mercenary said doubtfully himself.

"You should go first merc, seeing as we paid you to lead us," I suggested with a laugh.

"I will send Bibo," the druid offered. "She is small, can fly, and will blend in with the darkness."

"Wow druid, you'd risk your bird's life?" I asked skeptically.

"I believe it will be fine, Laurella doesn't sense anything alive and Maria doesn't sense anything magical or mechanical," he assured and locked eyes with his bird. The bird gave a short chirp and flew off his shoulder into the corridor. We all watched carefully as the bird flew to the end of the hallway and then doubled back to us. Nothing even remotely interesting happened.

"See there?" the warrior said. "Let's go," he said and started walking forward. All of us followed him. We hadn't gotten to the end of the hallway, only about halfway when I felt a familiar rumble beneath my feet.

"Are you serious?" I snapped irritably before the floor began to give way and we all plummeted down to the level below. Luckily, the lower floor wasn't as far as the first one had been; we were all able to land safely. Unluckily, we seemed to land in the middle of a group of gigantic creatures that had been conveniently standing around doing nothing, so they were instantly alerted as well fell into their midst. These things had to have been at least fifteen feet tall and were grossly disproportionate. They looked humanoid, but their heads were tiny and their eyes were even smaller. The main trunks of these monsters were wide and thick, they seemed to have enormous stomachs. Their limbs were narrow at the points of attachment to the main body and were skinny up until the very ends of their extremities. Their hands and feet were gigantic, making their limbs look like a sling. They wore nothing save a loincloth that barely covered anything.

I watched as one swung an enormous fist at the brown mutt while it fell. The druid's bird was the only one able to keep on balance, seeing it was the only one that could fly. It dove into the monster's face and pecked at its tiny eyes, it didn't do damage but it was an appropriate distraction. The monster missed the brown mutt completely and in fact threw itself so grossly off balance with the miss that it stumbled forward dangerously.

"What the heck are these things?" the warrior asked, eyeing them uneasily.

"I don't know," the assassin admitted, a strange thing for her, who usually seemed to have the answer for everything.

"I do," our saber-cat said as we all backed ourselves into a circle, a stupid thing in my opinion, but we just didn't have a choice, they were forming a ring around us and they were so big we had no way of getting around them.

"Give us an explanation later kitty-cat, just tell me if these things have a weakness that you know of," I insisted with a growl. Right now I was more concerned with defeating them and moving on quickly than satisfying curiosity or hearing background information. I didn't care what these things were or where they came from; I just wanted to blast them into oblivion. Why is it that every place we need to go is always under several levels of something else or out in the middle of nowhere? I was quickly becoming impatient, perhaps it had something to do with the fact the amazon's energy seemed to be drawing closer the further down we went.

"They are immune to most magic, master necromancer, and their flesh is very thick. I doubt any of our weapons will harm them," she admitted seriously.

"Everything has to have some weakness," the assassin said, assessing the monsters quickly.

"These things have terrible balance, and they can't see well at all," the druid supplied.

"Then let us use it against them," the paladin announced. Move into them, and if you can, try and get between them so they hit each other."

"Can they really be that stupid?" the rogue asked, leery as she watched the monstrous demons close in on us.

The sorcerer took the opportunity to hit one in the face with an ice spire, though like our saber-cat had said, it did nothing to harm the monster. It sneezed violently, rattling the earth and sending shockwaves of sound. Apparently it sneezed into the face of another demon, which growled angrily and swung a massive fist like a lead weight into the first one's face in retaliation. The huge monster stumbled sideways and with a primal grunt it sluggishly attempted a strike of its own. The punch connected with the second demon's gut and bounced off the fatty flesh like a rubber ball.

"Apparently so," I said in amusement.

"All tha same, they're so big a strike from one could kill ya instantly," the barbarian said uneasily, watching them.

"The answer is simple, dimwit," I said plainly. "Don't get hit."

"I think we all can agree on that much," the druid said with a snort.

"Hey, blunder-belly," the warrior called to the monster in front of him with a grin on his face.

The gargantuan demon stared him down, squinting its tiny eyes, then started taking enormous steps forward, rattling the earth.

"Everyone break apart now!" the paladin called, as all of us darted towards the demons, running in different directions.

I watched as the warrior sent a fireball flying up the nose of a demon, then ran swiftly underneath the legs of one behind him. As I suspected, the monster the warrior hit couldn't distinguish that it was the warrior that attacked it and not its fellow. As far as it was concerned, the attack had come in the direction of the one the warrior ran under, and my further assumption was that these things could only really see movement and not distinguish much of anything. The monster the warrior hit plowed fiercely into the one he ran under and the two giants began clashing stupidly.

I actually laughed when I saw the sorcerer teleport himself onto the shoulder of one of the ogres and zap lightning into its ear. It probably was the equivalent of having a mosquito buzz in our ear, but the monster acted just like we would have. It lashed out with its enormous hand, trying to bat the sorcerer away. In a blink he was gone as the unintelligent monster smashed its own cheek, causing it to stumble backwards, extremely off balance into another creature. Those two snarled at each other and began fighting as well.

The druid's vine snaked between the feet of another demon, just passing over the toes. The demon reached down to rip the vine off at the same moment the plant encircled the feet of another demon. The druid somehow signaled the plant to tighten itself and plunge back into the floor, and as it did, it tripped both demons over each other and they came crashing down hard to the ground in a tangled heap.

The two demons on the floor thrashed around wildly in a grappling match, shaking the very floor itself. They rolled sideways into another demon, bowling it over and collecting it in their brawl on the ground.

I felt the earth rumble as one of the enormous demons came up behind me. I had an idea. I enhanced my dagger with corroding poison, I knew it would not be enough to do any serious damage, but pain was the key factor here. Minding my placement and position carefully, I moved into the creature's foot, big enough to be the first story of a house and I slammed my dagger point first into its big toe.

It was just as I expected. The creature roared in pain as I watched the area my dagger had stabbed turn a blackish hue as it decayed the flesh around the puncture wound. Nothing more than a bug-bite would feel to us, but still painful enough to cause a reaction. The monster grabbed its foot and began to jump around on one leg. I struggled to keep my footing as I was tossed into the air by the sheer force of the vibrations.

The barbarian finished what I had started; he threw an enormous chunk of rock, which only he could lift and hit the back of the creature's skinny knee. Without its other leg, it fell onto the floor. The rogue fired into the eye of one creature, then turned around and fired into the other one of another. The two giants swung opposing arms with half-vision and managed only to collide with each other.

The paladin and the assassin were running crisscrossing patterns between the legs of two more demons, making them increasingly dizzy. One smashed the ground pretty close to the assassin. She twirled in the air and landed on her feet, but the shockwave of the monster's steps so close to her tossed her into the air once more.

The paladin caught her midair as she would have landed in the path of an oncoming monster, and instead the two of them landed atop a monster's foot. The other one that had been chasing them raised a fist and struck at them furiously. Both moved aside swiftly as the monster striking at them smashed its gargantuan fist into the other's foot like a sledgehammer.

The two howled in fury and charged each other like two fighting rams. Soon, everywhere we looked, the monsters were brawling each other all around us. How pathetic for them, but how fortunate for us. The only question was, how were we actually going to kill them? For all their fighting and aggression, none of them had struck a killing blow on any of the others. That part was frustrating, and if we didn't figure out something soon, it would also be counterproductive.

"What now?" the rogue asked, looking around at them skeptically.

"We need a way to take them out immediately while they're preoccupied," the warrior observed, rocking on his feet with the motion of the rolling ground so as not to fall over.

" Can't we cave in the rest of the ceiling and kill them the way we killed those dune beasts?" the rogue asked, eyeing the remnants above us.

"No, they're too big for that. It would feel like a shower of dust at most," the assassin said, looking around, "and, we've nothing to protect ourselves from the downfall either."

"Cloudyous, can you no split earth? Can bury them?" the mage asked the druid, referencing to the times I had previously seen him open up a vent in the ground.

"I can't open one big enough for all of them," he answered looking around, calculating.

"Can't we jus' knock 'em in one at a time?" the barbarian asked, eyeing them.

"No, there are too many and we cannot maneuver them that precisely one at a time," the assassin answered.

"There has to be something," the paladin asked quickly, looking them over.

"Kitty-cat," I asked my indentured saber-cat.

She turned to look at me respectfully with her wild golden eyes. That was one thing that made me laugh. No matter what I said to her or how I insulted her, her honor would not allow her to strike at me or retaliate. Honor. What a stupid concept.

"Yes, master necromancer?" she asked politely.

"How humanoid are these things? Do they breathe air?" I asked, cutting straight to the point.

She nodded. "Yes, master necromancer, though their lungs are deep within their chests, just like ours. We probably cannot reach them with anything we possess," she answered.

"You're thinking too hard, kitty-cat. I would think the answer would be obvious. Any type of animal moving in for the kill would strike at the—" I began bluntly.

"Nira is not an animal," the warrior hissed at me.

"This is not what master wishes to say," the she-cat said quickly. "Any predator, frasa, a full firgish or even humans, can bring down their prey more quickly by striking the—" she began.

"Throat," the assassin finished for her.

"But how do we do that? Our saber-cat has said it herself, no weapons or magic that we possess can seriously harm these creatures," our mercenary said dubiously.

"We do not possess the weapons, but nature does," the druid said, nodding to himself. "I have an idea. Stand clear," he announced. In the following moments he closed his eyes and began making strange growling sounds deep within his throat. I could feel something break through the spirit barrier, and a rush of savage energy rip through the area. This new energy had every feel of a predatory animal, it was fierce and unrefined. Brute strength and bloodlust lingered in the air from the druid's strange magic as the energy began to take shape. A ball of red light coalesced around the druid into a shape that looked like a badger's head. The ethereal fangs of the creature were the most prominent part, and I watched as the druid directed this strange new spirit into the vine in front of him.

The effects were most interesting. The vine doubled in size and thickened to the width of half the bear's body. It began to wriggle on the floor like a thrashing fish out of water as it lengthened to nearly double what it had been before and began jumping in and out of the floor like a dolphin would in water. I could feel the rumble beneath my feet as the vine ripped into the inner layers of stone. The druid placed one hand on the side of part of the vine, and a subtle glow came from his hand, my guess was his way of giving the empowered plant orders.

The vine rocketed forward through the ground and washed over the giant demons, regardless of position. Like expected, the creatures thrashed wildly. I saw the vine tremble and for a moment I thought it was going to break, but I was wrong. The vine held and finally managed to crawl its way up to the heads of the creatures and wrap around their meaty necks like a noose. The vine swirled over itself like the coils of a serpent around the demons' necks, and just like a python, the vine began to constrict around the throats of the demons. The monstrous demons struggled fiercely, but as I already knew, it was just wasting their breath even more quickly. They began to convulse and I could feel their demented energies begin to fade. Within minutes the last demon lost its final breath, and then fell still.

The vine didn't stop after the demons were dead. Whatever spirit the druid had channeled into it seemed to still be alive, because the vine dove furiously into the corpulent corpses of the fallen demons and began decomposing them, much to my surprise. I felt an odd force wash over me as pure physical and spiritual energies flowed into my body, obviously the final life forces of the demons, but they had somehow been purified by the druid's plant, which was now giving them to us. I felt my chin tingle and I realized that the vine's energy was healing the bruise I had been developing where the horror's fist disguised as my father's had hit me a short while ago.

"Wow," the rogue said as she watched a slice on her upper arm heal before her eyes.

"Yeah, 'is is different," the barbarian agreed.

"This is not harmful, relax Maria," the paladin said gently to the assassin, whom had tensed incredibly. Observation told me that she was being affected by the druid's magic too, and she hadn't been expecting it. She seemed to detest the thought that she wasn't immune to this new force, and I could see why. As an assassin, she was supposed to be above every kind of magic, natural included.

"It's pure," the paladin assured further.

"I know," she said, not relaxing in the slightest.

"What's the matter assassin? Did you just find out you're human? Wow, bested by nature, how sad," I taunted her.

"Not really," the druid said genuinely, "If it's any consolation, Maria, nature magic is the most difficult to corrupt."

"Everything can be corrupted," she said apathetically.

"Now that these are dead," the warrior said, interrupting her, "which way do we go next?"

The rogue looked around the room. "I'm getting a strong pull that way," she announced, pointing off to the right.

"Wha' do ya mean, Laurella?" the barbarian asked. "Piricus, can ya feel Chyemme's energy down tha' way?" he asked, turning to me.

"No," I answered briskly.

"Then where?" the warrior asked.

"Below us still," I remarked simply.

"There is only ground beneath our feet, there are no more levels of this establishment," the druid informed, touching and apparently communicating with the vine.

"This place isn't a physical part of this world," the assassin said, mirroring my mind. "It is its own dimension set apart by magic," she clarified.

"That strong magic," the sorcerer said gravely.

"And extremely dangerous. No one should be that powerful," the assassin said eerily.

"Young cub, what is it that you sense? Do you sense magic like mage of the dark skin possesses? Or dark energy as it is with demons?" the she-cat asked.

"No, it feels like . . .people," she said, confused.

"Are they dead?" the mercenary asked gravely.

"If they were, then chances are Laurella would not be sensing them and Piricus would be," the paladin said simply. "It seems to me that innersight detects living life force, and if they were dead, Laurella would not be able to sense them. That is the talent of a necromancer, rather. To sense the energy of death."

"Once again, you have a wonderful talent of speaking the obvious," I told him snidely, and all of my skeletons crossed their arms, mimicking my own gesture. Sad to say, they hadn't been of much use in this last battle.

"I thought everyone that was down here died?" the mercenary asked. "I don't know how they would have survived with so many monsters around."

"Maybe they guards?" the sorcerer suggested.

"Maybe we should check it out," the warrior suggested. "We might be able to help someone out."

"Or go wandering off for no reason," I growled. I wasn't in any mood to undertake some charity mission that would only delay us further and put myself at risk. I came to find the amazon, and by that right, whatever it was that had the Trag 'Oul damn audacity to make me go through this mess to begin with.

"The chance to help someone out is a good reason," the paladin argued.

"It's a waste of time," I countered flatly. In reality, I was thinking that it was actually a race against time. I had no idea what was going on with the amazon or the sorceress and any second could be their last. I would be beyond pissed if I went through all this garbage to end up with nothing.

"Maybe they're soldiers and kin help us out," the barbarian offered.

The she-cat nodded. "I have no knowledge of the ways of human magic, but it can never hurt your chances if there are more members in a pride when going up against a strong opponent."

"That is sound logic," the druid agreed.

"Hurry up then," I snapped. "Let's get moving." By this point I guessed that I might as well go with the flow instead of argue, maybe we'd be done faster that way.

We hastily made our way around the monumental bodies of the demons that we had just slain and hurried into a narrow hallway. The hallway branched off into three different directions at the end. The rogue had taken point and was apparently honing in on this strange new energy with ease, she raced around several corners and darkened passageways swiftly until we came to a dead end.

"Brilliant, little girl," I growled. "There's a wall there."  
"But there's something on the other side of it," she argued without turning around. She began running her hands over the stone surface, checking it.

The barbarian walked over to examine it for himself. He knocked on the stone, then shook his head. "Solid rock. Ain't nothin' hollow 'bout it," he announced.

It took a moment, but a faint sound, like a knock was heard. I realized it was coming from the other side of the wall. The rogue was right, something was alive behind this wall.

"That sounded like a person just now," the mercenary affirmed.

"Maybe you should break through the wall, Alminus," the warrior suggested. "You're probably strong enough."

"I do not think such would be a good idea," our saber-cat interjected. "Whoever was on the other side of this wall did not scream or make loud noise. If they were in some type of trouble they most likely would have roared out to us or pounded on the wall. I think, they might be trying to signal us for silence," she observed.

"I agree," the assassin said as she scanned the wall over.

"What should we do?" the mercenary asked. "If we cannot communicate, we have no idea what's going on."

"I know soldier's code," the paladin offered. "In times of battle where stealth was needed, we developed a series of knocks, so many stand for such and such letter, and so on," he explained.

"Go ahead n' try," the barbarian encouraged.

The paladin walked over to the wall and began tapping on it strong enough to make a sound, but light enough as not to bang on it. Moments followed, and then there was a response. I scowled as minutes passed and this unspoken conversation showed no signs of stopping.

"Paladin, I don't have time to listen to you preach a lecture through a wall. What the hell is going on?" I growled at him.

He held up a hand for my silence, listening intently to the knocks on the wall. At last, it was silent.

"Well?" I repeated impatiently.

"There are a group of the harem women behind this wall. The one I was talking to said they're in some type of cage and that they're being held hostage by a strange creature with four arms. I didn't get the full information," he said looking at me, clearly telling me that my interruption had cost him some words, "but it seems they are being given one at a time to some other demon. The one I was talking to said the demons will kill them all if they try to make an escape, which is why we shouldn't break through this wall. They'd all likely be dead before we could reach them," he explained.

"Then what the hell do we do then? Like I said, this has been one big waste of time," I hissed. How did I know this wasn't going to be simple in the slightest?

"Hold on Piricus," the paladin said calmly. "I wasn't finished. She said there is another way into the room they're held in that can only be reached from the outside. We just need to walk a little this way," he said and began moving to the left, "and pull down the arm on this statue," he said simply, gesturing to a marble bust of a desert man on a pedestal.

"Then wha' r' we waitin' fur?" the barbarian asked.

"Use your head—oh wait, you'd take that literally," I said sarcastically. "Do you really want to run in there blind without a plan?"

"He's right," the assassin said plainly. "Scorpious, I have an idea. Open the way and I will go first, Laurella, you come too," she said to the rogue.

The rogue looked confused for a moment, then moved into place behind the assassin. The paladin quietly pulled the switch, and a piece of the stone wall creaked sideways, revealing a small passage.

"The rest of you stay here," the assassin said to us plainly as she and the rogue disappeared into the shadows.

Moments passed, and there was no sign of movement anywhere. We all tensed as we could make out two shadows moving towards us through the tunnel.

"Well?" I asked impatiently, expecting an answer from the rogue or the assassin, neither of which responded.

"It not them," the sorcerer pointed out.

"Obviously," I said sarcastically as two terrified-looking girls came out, one in the assassin's armor, and one in the rogue's.

"Ah, I see," the druid said. "They switched you two places."

"Yes," one said uneasily. "The demons are choosing the next of us to present to their leader . . ." one said with a shiver.

"They said to wait for a few minutes, and another one of the girls will come out and let you know it's safe to come in. They were going to distract the guards . . ." the other said quietly.

"How r' they gonna fight without their armor?" the barbarian asked. "Y, didn' they take it with 'em?"

"Because it only has the scent of demon blood on it," I said snidely, "and if they were wearing it, they wouldn't exactly fit in with the bunch now, would they? And if they left it lying around, the demons would find it, and probably attack the whole bunch of them," I finished bluntly.

"But they also left their weapons," the warrior said in concern, seeing the gleam of the assassin's katars against the wall in the hall in front of us.

"That woman is a weapon," I said with a growl.

"Piricus is right," the paladin agreed. "Maria can take care of herself and so can Laurella. I doubt they are defenseless, even if they don't have their preferred combat weapons."

"Well, whatever they are doing, they need to hurry the hell up, I'm tired of waiting," I said truthfully and tapped my foot to emphasize the point.

"Patience will benefit us all in this case. If we rush we could get them killed," the paladin said gravely.

"Patience is a worthless virtue for the most part," I countered.

"For most part? Wow. You no deal in absolutes this time," the sorcerer laughed.

"Someone's comin'," the barbarian announced as another shadow surfaced into the hall.

"Hurry!" the harem girl urged as she surfaced, followed by a mass of others in brightly colored attire. "Your friend is fighting the demon guards alone!"

"Wow, you didn't stay to help? What a surprise," I said sarcastically.

"We can we do?" one in turquoise attire asked me skeptically.

"Nothing," I said with a laugh. "Because you're all useless. You probably can't even make it back topside on your own. And speaking of useless—" I said, glaring around myself in contempt, "if they die then this whole excursion will have been useless. Well, maybe not entirely for me, but—" I added.

"He's right," the paladin said quickly. "Nira," the paladin said to the she-cat, whom sprang to the ready on his command instantly.

"Yes, master paladin?" she responded respectfully.

"You and Ahmad, escort these women back to the safety of the upper level, make sure nothing happens to them, then return as swiftly as you can," he instructed.

"As you wish, master paladin," the she-cat said and she and the mercenary shared a mistrusting glance between them. I could clearly see the resentment in the mercenary's face and for a vague moment I wondered if he would actually try to get rid of her while the rest of us were not present. He'd be a fool, but I was almost sure that assessment wasn't far off base. I would take care of that right now. I didn't give a damn one way or the other about the mercenary, but the she-cat was actually somewhat useful, and more over she was my minion. No one messes with my minions without my say so.

"Merc," I said plainly as he turned to leave.

"Yes?" he asked me hesitantly.

"If the kitty- cat here doesn't come back and you do, I will assume that you've killed her and I will kill you myself thereafter, got it?" I said bluntly.

" Trust me, I wouldn't dare," he said submissively as he and the saber-cat started leading the group of terrified women back the way we had come.

"You don' really think e'd try it, do ya?" the barbarian asked me skeptically.

"He's really not all that intelligent, so my answer to that would be yes," I said simply and walked ahead into the hall.

"What about their armor?" the warrior asked, watching the two women wearing them disappear down the hall with the others.

"We don't have time to worry about that right now," the druid answered, "we will trust that their own skills are enough protection for now," he assured and quickly followed the pack of his three mutts into the darkness.

"They'll definitely need these," the warrior mumbled and picked up the rogue and assassin's weapons as we hurried by.

I could hear the sounds of enraged demons coming from ahead and the sounds of heavy impact. I couldn't hear any sounds that could have been coming from the rogue or the assassin.

We reached the interior chamber, which had obviously been converted into some crude type of jail cell, the demons must have used debris from the wall or ruined furniture for this make-shift prison, which was a mixture of wood, metal, and stone. To my surprise, I couldn't see any signs of murdered harem women, or for that matter, any signs of human death. Something about this wasn't making sense. What would demons want with live human women?

I felt a rush of air and saw a shadow leap aside as a massive fist came crashing down, followed swiftly by another, and then another. I could vaguely make out the tall shadow with its four arms. It must have been some variant of those sand raider things we had seen earlier down in the sewers.

The figure waited until the last second, then jumped onto one of the creature's arms. I saw another shadow and realized there were two demons present. The figure yielded sideways and nimbly flipped over the strike of the second demon, which skewered the first on accident, killing it. I heard the body hit the floor and smelled demon blood.

It must have been the assassin; there was no way the rogue could move that fast or that precisely. The second demon stepped down on one of its fellow's blades, breaking it into pieces. It was close enough to grab the assassin and with four hands it easily boxed her in. I couldn't see her anywhere, the creature's hands closed in around her. It howled in pain and I could smell the fresh blood. A few of its fingers actually fell off. As we drew closer I could see how mutilated the fingers were, they had been cut deeply by some type of large blade and were nearly torn to shreds.

The monstrosity stumbled backwards, immediately releasing the assassin. When the dim light revealed her, she was completely unharmed; it looked as if the thing hadn't been able to make contact with her at all and for good reason. Pieces of the first demon's enormous sword were swirling around the assassin in a dome, held together by some unseen force, perhaps the assassin's mind. The circle of blades had formed a quite formidable shield.

The creature leaned forward and lashed out with its hair like a streaking whip. The strike hit the bladed shield and got cut off, but not before some of it made contact with the unarmored assassin. She flew backwards with great force toward a side wall. She must have realized where she was headed, because she immediately disassembled her blade shield. A good move on her part, she narrowly avoided slamming backward into her own blades as she hit the wall.

The demon closed in on her and was intercepted by the druid's vine, which wrapped tightly around two of its limbs diagonal to each other on opposing sides. The thing struggled with itself, trying to decide which limbs to use to break free. The druid's bird flew into its face and began savagely pecking at its eyes, causing it to stumble onto the ground, where the vine managed to pin the rest of its body.

The barbarian raced over and used the opportunity to cleave straight through the monster's neck with his enormous axe and brute strength.

"Maria, are you alright?" the paladin asked, hastily making his way over.

"Fine," she insisted, though I could clearly see she was not. Wearing no armor and no padding, she had hit the wall with a fair amount of unabsorbed force. Instead of armor she was wearing a skimpy blue outfit with no middle that had left her stomach exposed, and she had slammed down hard on her left side from the looks of it. There was a deep bruise starting to form there and I could see the indent in her skin, evidence of some broken ribs.

She hissed in pain as the paladin pulled her to her feet and helped her straighten herself up. He made to heal the wound, but she stopped him.

"There's no time for that right now. They took Laurella to their leader," she insisted. "Ryelass, my katars," she said, though not impolite.

The warrior handed her the weapons without question, but the barbarian had one. "Why'd they take Laurella?" he asked seriously.

"I don't know," she admitted strangely.

I laughed harshly. "That wasn't part of your plan, was it assassin?"

"No, but it could work to our advantage," she said plainly.

"How could that girl's death be an advantage other than freeing up space and another skeleton?" I asked sarcastically.

"I didn't say her death would be," the assassin said giving me an icy look. "That would actually be a disaster."

"Which way did they take her?" the paladin asked quickly.

"This way," the assassin said, starting forward swiftly, though I could tell the pain was immense. She was definitely slower, her movements were becoming less refined, and she was having to make minor adjustments to her steps to counteract her loss of balance. But, if it was anything to her credit, she was disguising it fairly well; the others couldn't really see the changes in her.

We quickly made our way through the darkness and I began to feel an immense magical energy. We were approaching something big, and as we drew closer, I could also feel the faint pull of the amazon's energy. I could hear the creaking of bones as my skeletons moved behind me, and I scowled at the druid's brown mutt as it sniffed the leg of one like it were some sort of treat as it ran past.

I could also smell smoke. Something was burning up ahead. I saw a streak of fire flicker past ahead of us and a shimmering red light in the background.

"There," the assassin said as we reached a wide room and sprinted in. I was completely surprised. There were several long-armed demons lining the room, sitting on the floor and one that was completely burnt orange all over sitting next to an archway that contained shimmering red plasma. It's burning red eyes were like tiger's-eye gemstones, they had many layers that shimmered in the firelight. I vaguely recalled seeing this particular monster on the floor in the witch's house. We inched slightly closer, so that we were standing directly behind two beaming torches, burning steadily.

"Wha—" the barbarian began.

"Shh!" the assassin urged soundlessly and I could see why. They were all transfixed, watching the rogue in the center of the room. She was dressed in one of the desert harlot's clothes, she had pink silk pants that fanned out towards the foot but were completely slit up the side, revealing part of her undergarments at the waist. At her waist there was a short embroidered skirt that went off to one side and had several golden bells on it. There was a transparent triangle of fabric covering her stomach connected to a golden- inlaid pink top with no sleeves that left little to the imagination. She had trails of fabric on her lower arms that were tied in place by several golden bracelets with more bells. She was twirling around in circles, swirling the fabric on her arms and legs, while twirling some sort of chain that was on fire at both ends.

I didn't know what the demons were so absorbed with, why the hell would they care about watching a skinny little girl dance? What was the rogue doing that was keeping them all so fixated? I considered the stimuli: The movement, the fabric, the bells, and the fire. Which one was it? Or was it a combination? If we could figure that out, we might, and I say MIGHT, could end this quickly. Trag 'Oul only knows how the simplest of tasks can get so twisted like they always do with us.

"How is she doing that?" the warrior asked silently, taking in the sight like I had and trying to analyze the circumstances.

"I think it might be—" the druid began, looking around at them, then us and our surroundings. One of his mutts inched ever so slightly forward, putting one paw into the room and suddenly they were all aware of our presence. They roared furiously and sprang to the ready, grabbing multitudes of gigantic weapons where they had been conveniently sitting around within reach.

"Spread out!" the paladin ordered swiftly as all the demons closed in on us. The rogue turned sharply our direction, catching sight of us.

"GUYS USE-!" she tried to say something to the rest of us, but that was all I could hear before the roars of the monsters overtook our ears and drown her out. The orange demon immediately attacked the rogue, its massive fist nearly crushed her in her attempt to dodge aside. She brought the end of the burning chain down fiercely atop the monster's hand, a move I thought it surely could dodge, but for some reason, didn't.

It struck at her again and again, each time coming closer to hitting her. She was fighting with the chain like a whip, and it wasn't even doing a slight amount of damage, but for some reason the strikes kept missing. The warrior was scanning the room, trying to find the best way to reunite her with her weapon, but his efforts were futile.

I tossed a fanged ball of my energy at an oncoming demon and surprisingly, the demon used its metallic bracer on one of its left arms to deflect it. I tried another one aimed at the other side, followed by a consecutive teeth spell into the same spot. I watched with a scowl as the creature blocked them both. All around me, the others seemed to be having problems as well, the creatures seemed to be able to anticipate our every move, their eyes followed us with every minor movement, there was no way anything would escape their notice. Or was there?

I watched one of my skeletons charge the creature's feet headlong while three more divided themselves and went to either side of it and the last one moved into position behind it. To my surprise, the demon seemed to be oblivious to their presence until they started hacking into its exposed legs. The skeletons' bone weapons weren't doing much good, but like the rogue, for some reason it appeared that the demon couldn't see my minions to strike at them.

The rogue gave a pained shout; I watched the enormous demon catch the top part of her foot with its enormous hand. She stumbled and fell immediately, drawing her injured leg into herself. The flame on her chain died immediately upon contact with the floor. The demon's red eyes flared and it roared in fury. I thought I was about to witness the end of the rogue, but quick as lightning, she pulled off the fabric on her arms, tied it hastily onto the chain, and whipped the chain backwards into a burning brazier near the wall. The cloth immediately caught fire; bring the chain back to burning life anew.

The rogue couldn't stand on her foot; my guess was that a few of her bones had been broken or bruised, so she remained on the floor. She began twirling the flaming chain in front of her like a fan, then off to the side, then the other side.

The demon's eyes followed the flame, gaining a focused look on its face. It smashed its fist into one side where the flame had been, then into the other. The strikes were dangerously close to the rogue's body, but they were missing like before. The demon seemed to be confused and had no idea where to strike.

I suddenly understood. I launched a teeth barb into a nearby ruined cushion. The fabric started to burn immediately. I used that moment of distraction to race behind the cushion and the flame. The demon chasing me followed after me, but like the one attacking the rogue, it had no idea where I was.

The warrior reached the rogue's side, and tried to hand over her bow, but she refused. She said something, though I couldn't hear it. The warrior nodded and collected energy into his hand before flinging a fireball into the face of the demon. It shrieked and stumbled, lashing out at everything. The warrior used the distraction to pick the rogue up in his arms and move her hastily out of the way to the wall. There, she collected her bow and took expert aim, firing flaming arrows into the sides and faces of demons all around us.

The male mage caught on. "Push together!" he shouted above the din. One by one, we started pushing the demons back to back. When he seemed satisfied, the sorcerer broke into a run and ran swiftly toward the line of demons. He began tracing a circular perimeter around the monsters, running the whole way and narrowly avoiding crushing blows. I could feel the friction in the floor and out of nowhere, flames erupted around and under the sorcerer's feet, spreading a blazing trail of inferno in his wake as he moved.

The fire corralled the demons back to back and they were all looking frantically around through the fire, but couldn't see a thing.

"Allow me," the druid said, stepping forward. He called out in a whistling noise and raised his arms over head. Stray chunks of broken rock, wood, and metal around the room from the walls, ceiling, and furniture coalesced around him, then flew overhead, superheating as they went. The molten rocks began raining down on the confused demons like a stone Armageddon.

The rocks and earthy debris carried enough weight and force that they crushed the demons, and where they did not, they melted into their flesh. The molten shrapnel finally melded together and came crashing down in an enormous meteor into the center of them, directed by the druid and exploded.

Smoke filled the room as did the scent of burning flesh. When everything settled, the demons lie together in a mass of charred and slightly melted corpses one atop another. That was, all of them except the orange one. I didn't see it anywhere.

Not unlike the assassin could have, the demon suddenly sprang from the shadows of the room, lunging for the warrior in front of the rogue. The warrior crashed his blade into the gargantuan monster's knowing there was no way his strength could ever match the demons. The warrior's blade sparked to life with the lightning power it gained from the Horadric Malus and sent the energy rippling into the demon's sword and into its body. The demon dropped the sword intelligibly and settled for grabbing the warrior instead in one of its lanky arms. It began squeezing the life out of him. The mage craned his neck to get a better look and possibly a better aim, but from where he was standing and the way the monster was flailing, he's just as soon hit the warrior than the monster.

I was surprised. For once, it seemed, the rogue saved him. She followed the monster's movements carefully and timed her shots flawlessly. She dispatched two blazing fire arrows into each of the monster's eyes. Blind though it was, it still didn't relinquish the warrior, and it actually made to take a bite out of him. The stars of innersight lit the area, illuminating the monster. The rogue then used her own spiritual energy as a guiding mark for her arrow. She loosed an ice arrow into the creature's mouth, directly into the back of its throat, though the arrow did graze the side of the warrior's chin about a millimeter. The demon coughed and sputtered, then began wheezing. It was apparent to me that the arrow had mixed with respiratory secretions and had frozen the demon's lungs from the inside out. The creature turned blue around the face and immediately dropped the warrior onto his ass before it fell over backwards, dead.

He touched his chin gingerly more out of reflex than anything. Somehow, other than a miniscule slice, he was fine. The arrow must only have had effect if it actually lands in something. Either that or the rogue was just incredibly weak and the shot, lucky.

"That was actually impressive, rogue," I said raising an eyebrow, "for something that happened on accident," I added with a sarcastic laugh, stating the most probable scenario.

"Tha' wersn't luck, tha' wers skill," the barbarian insisted to me harshly.

"Yep, that was amazing, seeing as she actually managed to hit him too," I said snidely, eyeing the warrior's injury. "Your aim was a little off rogue, if you wanted to kill him, you should have gone a little bit to the right," I added with a laugh.

"Shut up, Piricus!" she hissed venomously.

"Ooh. Getting an attitude? You should ask our mercenary about his personal experiences walking down that avenue. Seriously, no one else would have hit him," I pointed out in humor that I'm very sure she didn't find funny at all.

The rogue cringed, though I wasn't sure if it was out of shame, or pain. Her foot was turning its own hues of blue and she slouched against the wall with an agonized expression on her face.

"My lady," the paladin said, racing to her side. "Let me have a look."

"I'm sorry," the rogue said, eyeing the warrior's chin ruefully. "He's probably right. Chyemme or Nira probably wouldn't have hit you."

"Don't be, I'm fine," the warrior assured gently. "You saved my life just now. You knew what you were doing. I don't think any of the others could have taken the shot and hit the mark as well as you did. You killed that thing just now," he reminded softly.

"Still, I—OUCH!" she squeaked miserably as the paladin moved her injured foot ever so slightly.

"Sorry," the paladin said sincerely.

"Tough up rogue. The assassin's in worse shape than you," I said, watching the mage-slayer out of the corner of my eye. Her injury seemed to be turning purple around the blue edges and there were red spots coming to the surface indicative of inner bleeding. "That's a good look for you, assassin," I added eyeing her injuries with relish. "Black goes very well with blue."

"Be quiet. I'm still not beyond cutting into you," the assassin remarked icily.

"How bad is it?" the rogue asked, looking at her own foot dejectedly.

"I think a few of your toes are broken to be honest," the paladin replied in earnest.

"Ya kin fix it, righ' Scorpious?" the barbarian asked hopefully.

"I can set them back in place, but she'll need a splint to hold them there and it will be extremely painful to walk. I can ease it temporarily, but I doubt it will last long enough to complete this mission," he explained.

"I'll live. Just do it," the rogue insisted.

"Here, I numb first," the sorcerer offered, walking over. He began gently misting the rogue's foot with ice from his hand.

The paladin carefully tested the rogue's pain reflexes gently until she assured him it was alright to proceed. "Brace yourself," the paladin said apologetically.

She nodded solemnly before he hastily pushed her toes into the base of her foot and then pulled two of them sideways back into place. She gave a pained shout, even though her foot had been numbed.

"Is it over?" she croaked miserably, looking at her own swollen, discolored toes.

"Yes, "he answered, "at least the most painful part," the paladin assured. He ran his hand over the injury, washing a subtle glow over it. Some of the bruising faded, but her foot still looked awful to say the least.

"And she's going to walk on that, paladin?" I asked skeptically.

"I hope not, Cloudyous can I ask you to—" the paladin began.

"Of course," the druid answered and removed one of his fur-lined bracers from his arm. He handed it to the paladin, whom pressed the furry side onto the bottom of the rogue's foot like a shoe. The sorcerer picked up a small slab of metal off the floor. I have no idea what it used to belong to, but he froze it over, then handed it to the paladin. The paladin placed the cold metal on top of the rogue's foot, then used the leather lacings of the druid's bracer to tie it gingerly over the top.

"That will have to hold for now," the paladin said gently.

"Thanks guys," she said, looking around.

"Your turn, Maria," the paladin said gently.

"I told you, I'm fine," she insisted.

"Maybe you were a minute ago, but not now," he insisted, eyeing the wound.

"You can't set broken ribs," she said bluntly.

"Drink this at least," the paladin pleaded, handing her a healing potion. "It will take care of any major internal bleeding."

The assassin looked it over carefully, but my guess was that was specifically for show. She had taken more assistance than this from the paladin in the past. My guess was that since she had gotten here into this Trag 'Oul forsaken desert and rendezvoused with Trag 'Oul only knows how many other assassins, she had begun to shape up around others considerably. It was one thing for total strangers to see you become lax even for a second, but another entirely when someone you respected or obeyed was around. This I knew from experience.

She drank the potion without saying a word, and I saw the red spots disappear from her skin and the bruising lessen. The paladin looked her over, a concerned expression still on his face.

"That's still pretty serious," he said gently.

"You know me. I've had worse," she said plainly.

"Allow me," the paladin asked sincerely, "we need everyone in the best shape they can be."

"Accepting assistance does not make you weak, lioness," the saber-cat said to her as she and the mercenary surfaced into the room, carrying their armor.

"Yes it does," I countered bluntly, "especially from him," I said with a growl, gesturing to the paladin.

"Well think of it this way," the mercenary said suddenly, "I should rather it be from one such as him, who does not expect anything in return if that were me."

"Tha's true," the barbarian agreed.

"I guess," the assassin said at last.

The paladin nodded and placed his armored hand over her bare, injured flesh. Something stirred in the assassin when he touched her, but just for a second. I could see it in the way her shoulder twitched ever so slightly. What a weakness. And to think it was one I could reach so very easily if she ever tried something on me. Who would have known? The heartless killer actually had a heart. Perhaps she herself thought that her feelings were starting to show and like a good little assassin, she was trying to curb that as quickly as possible. I would if I was her, but for me it was already too late. I'd already seen it with my own eyes. How ironic, that I, as the huntress' prey, have been watching her all along, learning her weaknesses so that when the time comes, the hunter will become the hunted. To me it was hilarious. I had been given an advantage over her just in the regards of meeting her and knowing that she was after me. Now, and attack couldn't come out of nowhere.

"Ready?" the paladin asked everyone when he was done.

"Not until we put our armor back on," the rogue insisted with a curt nod from the assassin in agreement.

"Young cub, what happened to your paw?" the she-cat asked, eyeing the rogue's make-shift bandage.

"She wasn't quick enough to move and almost shot her boyfriend while you were gone kitty-cat," I said sarcastically.

"We don't have time for this," the rogue growled, though there was a subliminal blush on her cheeks when I called the warrior her boyfriend. By Trag 'Oul I think some sort of love potion was in the air. The assassin, the rogue . . .who was next? The amazon? Well, luckily for me, I am immune to most poisons, love being one of them.

"Are you going to be able to put your boots back on?" the warrior asked in concern.

"Should be, if I cut them slightly," she said with a frown.

"Allow me," the barbarian said kindly, and carefully ran his axe off to one side of the top, parting it slightly wider.

"Thanks," she said in gratitude.

"Does that lead into the arcane sanctuary?" the mercenary asked uneasily, eyeing the portal.

"Give ya three guesses," the barbarian said good-naturedly.

"He'd use them all and still be clueless," I said simply.

"I'll go first," the paladin offered and walked up to the wavering light. He made to step through, but it was like trying to step through brick.

"What wrong?" the sorcerer asked.

"This gate requires some type of key, mage of the dark skin," our saber-cat said, eyeing it.

The druid's black mutt walked over to the corpse of the orange raider and plucked out its left eye with its muzzle, causing a squishy popping sound. The druid's black mutt crunched the demon's eye in its jaws, spewing juices out everywhere, then it spit the orb out.

"Gross," the rogue said, watching the display.

The druid's bird flew over to the remains of the eyeball and picked a small gemstone out of the middle in its beak. The bird flew onto the druid's shoulder and dropped the object in its palm.

"So wha' tha heck wers up with 'ese things anyway?" the barbarian asked, giving the fallen demons an odd glance.

"They do not see the light spectrum we do, they see in infrared," the druid explained.

"Wha?" the barbarian asked, confused.

"They see like a snake," the druid clarified. "They sense heat, and that is how they see. All living things give off heat energy, so to them, all of us, including Gaia, Bibo, Belthem and the others, even my vine—glow like torches in the dark to them. Using fire, like Laurella was doing when we first came in blurs their vision. It is, if you will, like one of us looking into the sun for an extended period of time. We are temporarily blinded by sunspots, and that is what fire is to them," he finished.

"How you know to use fire?" the sorcerer asked the rogue curiously.

"Maria and I saw how they reacted to fire when we were with the harem women. Maria stepped into the firelight of one of the torches and I noticed they couldn't sense her. That was also in combination with what one of the other harem women told me. She said that they seemed to be dazed by watching fire flicker," she explained.

"But that begs the question, what where they doing with these women in the first place?" the mercenary asked, for once mirroring my mind. "I see no corpses around and the women that we escorted said that they didn't kill them either while they were imprisoned."

"He is right. The josta told us that while they are not killed unless they try to escape, they do not come back once they are taken away," our she-cat relayed.

"What's a josta?" the mercenary asked.

"They are those that do not fight," the saber-cat clarified.

"This is disturbing," the paladin said in reference to the current conversation, "but I think we will find our answers within the arcane sanctuary."

"I agree," the druid nodded. He walked over to the archway with his animals following closely behind and pressed the small stone into a groove atop the arch. Red light blasted through the area and in moments we were gone.


	15. Chapter 15

AN: Hey guys sorry for the long delay, I recently moved cross country and had to transfer at my job. On top of it all I've had a serious family emergency that I've been dealing with. Anyway, thanks a million times over for everybody reading and reviewing or adding this story to their favorites or alerts lists. You guys rock my world as always.

Disclaimer: I do not own Diablo 2. Blizzard entertainment does, I'm just playing around in their universe for fun.

Complacent Confessions

Piricus

The first thing I noticed when my world stopped moving was an odd ringing noise. It sounded like a steady hum, perhaps like unto a hive of bees, but somewhere within the sound was something a bit more livelily. I thought for a moment it might be bells or chimes, but the more I focused, the more the noise began to coalesce into increasingly human sounds. Whispers and distorted utterances, not quite actual words seemed to be assaulting my senses from all sides. The noise also seemed to carry some sort of physical effect; the vibrations upon my skin seemed strained and carried a certain amount of heat energy.

I searched quickly for the cause of the new sensation; if an attack was coming, which with my luck, it most certainly would be, it was not coming out of the dark to bite me in the ass. I felt myself blink as I looked around. Dark was exactly correct. The place I found myself in now was completely dark in all directions, save bright balls of white light seemingly floating omnipotently around everywhere suspended by nothing. I looked down. Just as I thought. It seemed the odd patterned floor I was standing on was also supported by nothing. The floor was more or less a shade of gray, though I'd never seen a hue like this; it seemed to be white one moment, then a shade of black, then gray. A mental trick my guess, or a distortion of energy. All over the floor were patterned stars of various colors, none of which seemed to mesh together and it created quite a visually distracting image, especially since this floor seemed to be the only tangible thing in the nothingness. Nothing to the left, nothing to the right, nothing above, and a stone floor that had a colorblind mason for a decorator below. I immediately concluded that this was no place within Sanctuary, this strange space was definitely a part of some spirit dimension, or perhaps, I thought, gazing at the endless blackness, one entirely on its own.

This space was massive, from the feel I was getting, but in reality the space could also be small; the endless depths I was staring into could have been an illusion of perception.

"What are those?" the rogue asked as she materialized next to me from nowhere, taking in the sight of the oddly luminescent balls.

"They look li' Chyemme's innersight," the barbarian said eyeing them.

"You feel her anywhere?" the sorcerer asked me, eyeing them as well.

"Those aren't hers," I said simply, surveying the glowing spheres for a moment longer. The odd experiences finally formed a thesis in my mind as to what they were. "At least, not yet."

"What are you talking about?" the warrior growled irritably.

The assassin looked around herself and scowled. "What a monster."

"Monster?" the mercenary asked, looking around quickly.

"You don't know what those are, do you?" the rogue asked, my grim realization slowly dawning on her also. She suddenly began to shake down to her injured foot, though I could not tell if she was afraid or upset.

"Do I want to?" the mercenary asked, leery.

"They're souls, halfwit," I said simply. "And they are what are holding this place together and keeping it in existence."

"There is no way a human hand could have created this," the druid observed, looking around. "At least, not just a single one, no one is that powerful, not even Horazon and this is supposedly his sanctuary."

"A human may have had the intent, but this is obviously demonic power," the paladin said looking around with disgust. "Horazon must just have been the medium."

"These forces rustle my fur," the saber-cat said quietly, "some are stronger than others, I am reluctant to say that they feel to me like a fresh kill as opposed to one that has been dead for moments already. I fear, master paladin, that this unnatural place is where the josta are being brought and then they are . . . ." she trailed off with a tense look ingrained all over her furry body.

"Makes sense," the barbarian said with a nasty scowl coming to his tattooed face.

"All this time, place has survived . . . but Lord Jerhyn say that disaster in palace only happen recently. Only last month or so, and people only missing after that. How this place sustained before?" the sorcerer asked, disgust written on his countenance as well.

"This place probably has other openings into other locations, nimrod. The one we went through can't be the only door," I said, scanning the blackness. "And I'm done theorizing. I don't really care about a bunch of prostitutes and moronic guards that got their souls sucked out; I don't intend to join them, and that's the only thing about this issue that concerns me in the slightest. The amazon is that direction," I said pointing off to the left nonchalantly. The second I had entered this place, her energy had increased nearly a hundred fold. The witch had been right. I could feel her clearly.

"Let's hurry," the warrior said, eyeing the soul-orbs in distain. "Whatever did this to the harem women is likely still around and we don't want it to get to Chyemme and Vendra."

The paladin looked around himself reluctantly, then nodded remorsefully. "You're right."

"If it give small comfort," the mage began, "perhaps when we rescue Chyemme and feisty one, if we can destroy place, we set souls free where they belong."

"It's a valid theory," the assassin said, still slightly sour as we started forward.

Walking on the warped floor was distracting, to say the least. Colors swirled beneath our feet and gave the illusion of movement, even when we were standing still. Several of the others, including the druid's animals, seemed to be so disoriented that they misplaced a few limbs and stumbled.

"That's graceful," I said snidely to the brown mutt as it stubbed one of its own toes. It growled at me in response, earning a disapproving glare from the druid.

"I agree," he said to the wolf gently, looking at the floor. "This is bizarre and not natural in any way."

"Cloudyous, can Bibo fly here?" the rogue asked, eyeing his bird.

"Physically? Yes she can, but I don't think it's wise. It is hard to gauge up and down here,

distance, and depth. She could very well fly into the blackness and get lost, so she and I are in agreement that for now, she will remain with me and if she must, only fly in front of us and close to the ground," the druid explained.  
"We need to focus," the paladin said simply, as the white-blue ring from before resurfaced around us. The paladin's magic didn't bring my attention completely away from the floor, but it did make it only minimally distracting. We walked for another hundred feet, and the assassin immediately seized the mercenary by the collar of his armor, yanking him backwards. The path had ended abruptly, but with the visual impairments the energy of this dimension was giving off, our visual depth perception failed to warn us of the change. My guess was the psychic sense of the assassin's is what tipped her off.

The mercenary shivered when the assassin released him, realization of what could have happened sinking in. "I don't even want to know what happens if you fall off of here," he said quietly.

"You'd likely fall forever," our saber-cat said, sniffing the air and gazing with her predatory eyes down into the bottomless blackness.

"This dead ends, where do we go now?" the warrior asked, looking around.

The druid's bird gave a loud squawk, inclining its ebon head off to the right. The druid carefully walked over to the side and stopped several feet short of where we visualized the end to be, smart in my opinion, because even with the paladin's aura we still couldn't trust our eyes completely.

"There's a staircase directly on the edge of this, it leads to another path below," he explained.

"Why didn' we see it?" the barbarian asked, slightly frustrated.

"Because in all honesty, it looks flat to me, I'd have missed it, but Bibo's vision works differently than ours," he explained.

"I see it, but how are we going to get down that without tripping?" the rogue asked dubiously, examining it for herself.

"If she is willing, have Bibo guide us. She'll have to do it individually," the paladin suggested. "No one else can appropriately gauge the distance."

"We'll have to touch her?" the warrior asked.

"That's the only way to be safe," the assassin said, looking the bird over.

"She will help us," the druid promised, locking eyes with his bird. "She understands the need. I will go first, just to be safe," he added.

"Brave man," our mercenary said uneasily.

"I trust her with my life. I have even before this and she has never let me down," the druid said simply. I watched in silence along with everyone else as the bird locked its feet around two of the druid's fingers that he held out to it on his right hand. The bird moved forward, guiding the druid by the hand, until the druid seemingly disappeared without warning below us.

"It's alright. I'm fine," the druid assured from somewhere I couldn't see. Send the next person."

The raven appeared out of nowhere, another distortion of depth that was partially encouraged by the midnight black of the bird's feathers against the inky black nothingness of the atmosphere.

"I'll go next," the rogue assured, and offered her fingers to the bird as the druid had done. One by one everyone made it down to the platform, save me.

The bird flew back up to the platform and eyed me hesitantly, obviously sizing me up. My guess is that since my natural energy pattern carries a tinge of death magic, it was leery of me. I just stared at it apathetically, then snapped my fingers, calling the skeletons I had managed to retain from our exploits earlier to my side.

"Don't worry pigeon," I said to it sarcastically. "I won't pluck you. Yet," I added snidely. "Fly back to your moron master, I don't need you," I said plainly. I carefully watched the bird fly away, then dissembled my skeletons, forming a bone bridge in the way that the bird had gone. The bone energy I could easily sense, so I was able to walk down my own ramp with no difficulty until I was back beside the others.

"You always have to be the odd one out," the warrior said to me, shaking his head. "What a waste of time."

"You have that completely backwards, shorty. Hanging around you all is the waste of time, and without me, you're going to get lost, because no one else here has any sense of direction," I retorted simply.

"N' without Chyemme, ya wouldn' have one either," the barbarian countered.

"Yes, I suppose she is actually making herself inadvertently useful for once," I said sarcastically. I hastily disassembled the bone walkway behind me and coalesced the bones into a revolving shield. A gesture that I am sure wasn't going to hurt in the slightest. While it was true that I could sense the amazon and I did have a better sense of a productive direction because of it, the blunt fact of the matter was that this weird space was just as offsetting to my magical senses as it was to the others. I could sense the amazon and the energy of my own creations, but apart from that, I couldn't sense anything else. And here, where there really was no concept of true direction, an attack could literally come from anywhere.

"This walkway forks at the end," the druid said simply, apparently reading some cue from his bird that I would never be able to understand.

"I DESPISE this," the warrior grumbled, turning to me with absolute reluctance all over his irritated face as he looked at me, "but, Chyemme and Vendra are important. Which way, Piricus?" he said in a low growl.

I laughed openly; this was just too good of an opportunity to pass up. "Maybe I should just let you guess. You didn't say please. If you ask the paladin he might ask for you because you have too much pride, but then again, if he asks, I'd never answer," I taunted. How hilarious this was, it would have been even more fun if we weren't in the middle of some Trag 'Oul knows where dimension that was obviously made with a jester in mind.

"The longer we take, the shorter your friends' lives might be," our mercenary reminded, though he flinched when he spoke to me.

"He's right," the paladin said gently.

The warrior was turning so red in the face that I thought he was going to explode. "I shouldn't have to grovel!" he snarled. "Not for asking a question!"

"This is childish," the assassin hissed.

"I'd bet everything I have that you won't ask him yourself either!" the warrior growled bluntly, making me laugh even harder. That much was as true as the fact we would all eventually die.

"I will ask," the saber-cat said with a slight disapproval in her voice. Perhaps she was getting frustrated. "There is no shame in a servant asking for the assistance of a master that only he is able to give. I am already indebted," she said, to my surprise, without pride in the slightest. "Master Necromancer," she began respectfully.

"No," I said plainly before she had even finished her request.

She blinked her large golden eyes in surprise. "Master?" she asked me in confusion.

"I want the warrior to ask," I said with a sly smile on my face. "Oh don't give me that look, paladin," I said, noticing the grimace on the so-called holy man's face. "I'm teaching him a lesson in humility. I thought you'd approve."

"There's a better time and place," the paladin said with a frown. "And this is done without the benevolent intention. This is just harassment."

The warrior stared me down directly for a moment, then with a voice devoid of any and all emotion, he said, "Piricus, _please_, which way do we need to go?"

"Oooh," I mocked. "That looked like it physically hurt. What's your rush?"

"Piricus," the paladin said, sounding slightly harsh, which surprised me also.

"Okay, okay. I've had my fun. That way," I said simply and began walking off to the right. It was amusing that all of them followed me like lovesick puppies, and even more when I turned to the left instead.

"Which way?" the warrior hissed, almost beyond words.

"You never did answer my question. What's your rush?" I said with an amused smile. His response literally shocked me so much I almost walked into my own bone shield. He must have been so angry he didn't realize what he let slip.

"For her!" he growled, barely enough to be heard. But I heard it, and apparently so did the assassin. We both looked at him simultaneously, me with interest and her with apathy. We ended up looking directly at each other after that, seeing as she was standing directly behind him. We glared at each other, before I turned back around to face in front of me. I knew, and so did she, that statement should have been "them" if he was concerned with both of the missing women of the group. And the rogue was here with us; he hadn't even paid her any mind or looked at her in the slightest when he said that. I knew she had nothing to do with that statement. The warrior and the sorceress didn't have even a remotely special connection, save maybe a minor friendship, but when I thought about it, the warrior and the amazon did seem to have interacted a lot more. The amazon was the one that had convinced me to save his worthless life back in the rogue cemetery. The amazon was the one that had been with him when he found out the truth about his imbecile brother. She was staying at his house with him; he was supposedly the one that brought her armor after that incident with the bear she had been telling me about. The more and more I thought about it, the more and more I recalled little things, like him coming to her defense verbally or sometimes physically, and the more and more I recalled, the more and more it made sense. They were extremely minor things, and he disguised it well. At least up until a minute ago. That fool had some romantic feelings for the amazon, and I'm sure she was completely clueless.

This was an interesting turn of events, seeing as how everyone in Sanctuary could see the rogue's feelings for him. I wondered briefly what would happen if she found out that her feelings were unrequited? At the moment, it appeared to me that she hadn't heard what he said; because I'm sure we would have seen an instantaneous reaction. I vaguely thought about saying something to her to satisfy my curiosity, but the thought was short-lived. I didn't need a heartbroken, useless burden on my hands at the moment that was only going to make life difficult. Fun indeed. You find out all sorts of things when you make people too angry to think clearly.

"Actually it's this way," I announced sadistically and walked wordlessly over to the left, which I knew to be the true direction.

"Make up yur mind," the barbarian grunted, a gesture the druid's enormous bear mimicked as it walked beside the flame-haired man behind me.

As we walked, a thought still occurred to me; one that I didn't think would have come up or even bother me in the slightest. I was actually intrigued as to what the amazon's feelings on this revelation would be. I don't know why this was, the opinions on such frivolous affairs of others never really peaked my interest before. As far as I was concerned, which was admittedly not very much, she had never shown any type of interest in him. At least, not that I had been paying attention to.

I almost walked into my own shield again as for some reason the train of thought I was on brought me to the memory of the rogue monastery and the unexpected kiss she had given me. I had been admittedly too shocked to react, and also a little too preoccupied with my survival instinct. I found myself actually wondering, if circumstances would have been different, what would my reaction have actually been? More than likely I would have pushed her away, of that I was almost positively sure.

I shook my head vigorously, clearing my mind. This train of thought was dangerous and was definitely going to derail somewhere it didn't need to go. There was only weakness in such things, and the more and more I thought back on everything, I was also beginning to realize that the amazon more than likely was developing an unhealthy attachment to me. Very dangerous indeed.

"MASTER!" the kitty-cat called out, bringing my attention sharply back where it belonged. I heard the clicking noise moments before thick, steel spikes shot out of the floor under my feet.

Startled, I jumped, but was quickly able to rectify my mistake. When I jumped, I hastily pulled my bone shield underneath my own feet, protecting myself as the deadly cones crashed into the bones, leaving me unharmed. By Trag 'Oul, this was exactly what I said about these thoughts. Dangerous. This was the first time in a long time I had been so carelessly caught off guard.

"That was amusing," the warrior said to me, with malice in his voice. "I've never seen you jump like a jackrabbit before. Too bad Nira had to say something."

"Such words are in poor taste, human of the spark-sword. If Master necromancer were to die, we would be lost and so would both your lionesses in need of rescue," the saber-cat reprimanded.

"We don't know that for a fact," the warrior countered to her bitterly.

"What is fact is that we can't walk on a trapped floor," the druid said simply as he walked over. "And everyone else needs to get across."

"Wha' happened ter yur vine, Cloudyous?" the barbarian asked curiously, looking around, noticing its absence.

"The carrion vine was rooted in the previous dimension in Sanctuary, it cannot extend its roots across such a gap in space and being," he explained.

"Too bad, you could have used it to destroy those spikes in the floor," our mercenary said, eyeing the trap I had just unwittingly traversed.

"Stone will serve as a proper shield just the same," the druid assured, as he surveyed the distorted floor.

"What you do to floor?" the mage asked, watching him.

"This floor is stone, same as it would be in sanctuary. I'll just slide them over," he said simply as a brown-green glow wrapped around his hands and rippled off of them, disappearing into the odd assortment of mulling colors on the ground. I didn't see anything happen through the jumbled imagery of the floor, but I distinctly heard what sounded like heavy stones sliding and locking into place.

"It's safe," the rogue assured as she checked it over with her own innersight, then walked across, escorted by the entourage of the druid's mutts.

Not too far off, the pathway ended off to the right, but unlike before, there was a glimmering portal at the end that sustained glowing red plasma between an archway of the same confounding, color-warping stone. I looked around myself. In all directions there were more walkways, some up and down and some off to the side. All donned similar plasmic portals at the ends. I scowled. I guess karma does really have a way of coming back to bite you in the ass.

"Oh goodie," I growled, eyeing the numerous portals all over creation.

"What's wrong, Piricus?" the paladin asked, coming up behind me.

"Someone designed this place as a maze," the assassin said icily as she walked over as well. "We have no way of knowing where these portals in front of us lead and which one they are connected to."

"Well, which way is your amazon friend?" the mercenary asked me.

"The direction hasn't changed, dimwit," I said coldly, "and that has nothing to do with our current problem."

"Master is correct," the she-cat said, eyeing the sea of platforms and portals. "It does not matter if we were to head in one direction, because we do not know if these strange doors of light will take us that way. We have no map to guide us."

"But we have enemies that greet us," the sorcerer said, gesturing suddenly to movement on one of the platforms. I followed his gaze as best I could up to a platform on the far left, where the outline of some creature was becoming visible.

"Wha's tha'?" the barbarian asked, squinting his eyes.

"Looks like another form of goat demon," the druid answered. "At least, that's what Bibo said just now."

"Goatmen? What would they be doing here?" the warrior scowled.

"Goatmen are just your average grunt for any demonic army. They can be anywhere even a lowly demon-summoner usually has enough skill for at least four or five," the assassin informed simply.

"Then there's probably an army down here," the mercenary said more to himself than anyone.

"Prolly. But we kin take 'em. We've done it before," the barbarian said nonchalantly.

"Masters, these creatures are new to me. Do they have a weakness that you know of? Strange because it is as you say, they are both human and kijia at once. Kijia have weak legs if we are going by mixtures, and most humans are fragile all over- forgive me," she said with a slight inclination of her muzzle towards us, apparently having let a long-standing opinion slip in our presence.

"No offense taken, rest assured," the paladin assured gently. "Comparing frasa and most other humans, I'm sure we are fairly inadequate by your standards."

"Kitty-cat, don't ever make the assumption that all humans are weak. You could come across a priest of Rathma and get into some real trouble," I said with a snort. "But as far as demons go, these are pretty pathetic. I expect you to tear into them like you would prey at mealtime without my assistance," I informed.

"You didn't answer her question," the warrior growled at me.

"I did, you just weren't smart enough to figure it out," I retorted simply.

"Plainly speaking, the bodies of these monsters function much like ours. Probably the quickest way to finish them is their neck or their heart," the assassin reiterated.

"Understood. These creatures shall feel the wrath of a frasa huntress and tremble before my strength. I will not be bested by anything that is any part of a kijia," she said with a snort.

"There are more of them over there," the rogue said, pointing diagonally off to the right on another platform.

The druid's brown mutt growled and inclined its head to straight in front of us, evoking an equal response from the other two and the bear. I surveyed our surroundings as well. Goat demons were appearing en masse all around.

"Well this is going to be difficult. They're swarming the portals. We won't be able to step through without them being right on top of us," the warrior said with a sigh.

"Perhaps not," the sorcerer said, looking around. "Nobody say we must get close to hit. Maybe, we hit from here," he suggested logistically.

"You really want to launch magic into that, sorcerer? For all we know, it'll fly back into our face or maybe knock something loose that's not supposed to be," I pointed out skeptically.

"A good point," the druid said, considering the situation.

"Laurella," the paladin began politely, "I think it would be safest to test this battlefield with an arrow, preferably not enhanced with anything. I do believe all of us will be able to dodge an arrow, or better yet, I will shield us from it if it should return back on us," he added.

She nodded and notched her bow. "Ready?" she asked and he nodded. "It's going dead center if it reaches," she said, inclining her head forward. She took aim and fired at the vague form of a demon on the platform in front of us. The arrow was visible all of four feet before it disappeared into the inky distortion around us. I heard nothing, and saw nothing. Nothing even remotely interesting happened.

"It stopped about five feet short," the druid announced, apparently conversing with his bird. "This place even distorts motion."

"Here's an idea," the warrior said, looking around, then at the portal in front of us. "It's weird, but for some reason they can't come through these things, otherwise I'm sure they would have by now. That, and this place is a mage's sanctuary. I very seriously doubt magic will rebound on the caster here, if it does, he was an idiot. Stand back a second, I'm going to see where this thing goes," he said bluntly as fiery energy swirled around his hand and finally formed into a fireball, which he flung through the archway without a second thought.

I saw the paladin shift uncomfortably, obviously ready to spring to action to protect us should a backlash occur, but moments passed and none did. After about five seconds, I heard an obnoxious braying sound as the warrior's fireball crashed into a demon somewhere to the right.

"Over there!" the mercenary exclaimed, pointing to the location the impact had occurred.

"Now, we know where it goes. Sovellis, Laurella, you care to join me in clearing the path?" the warrior asked with a slight grin coming to his face.

"Of course," the mage said as the rogue nodded and they both stepped up beside him. The rogue fired an icy barrage of arrows and the sorcerer blasted lightning into the portal followed by fire from the warrior. Seeing an opportunity, I dispatched a couple of teeth spells that sailed easily over the warrior's head into the portal as well, which he was none too happy about.

We watched as our attacks materialized through the portal off to our side and blasted into demons. I felt a few of them die, but more just seemed to be coming to take their place.

"We aren't going to get anywhere," the rogue said, slightly frustrated.

"I'll clear the space for a few moments while we go through," the assassin promised. She pulled a metallic cylinder out of her pouch that seemed to have a division down the middle and a button on the top. She pressed the button, then hastily tossed whatever that contraption was into the portal. On the other side off to the right, sparking waves of lightning rippled one after another, and I could vaguely make out the shadows retreat slightly.

"Wait a second," the assassin warned the barbarian as he made to step through the portal. "It needs to clear the magical energy or you will fry yourself," she explained.

"Count to three," I said sarcastically. "Oh wait, you can't wait that long or count that high."

"It's safe," the paladin announced nonchalantly and swiftly stepped through the portal first accompanied soon after by the she-cat.

Stepping through this portal wasn't any different than the last one to get into the arcane sanctuary itself. I was on the next platform in the blink of an eye, or at least that was what it was to me, but apparently there was a delay, because the others that had gone before me just seconds ago were already engaging the goatmen in battle. These looked much like the blood clan we had encountered in that Trag 'Oul forsaken tower a while ago in the rogue lands, but these were somehow an even deeper red.

These demons didn't seem to be too much different from any of the others we had faced, I was almost convinced this would be easy, until the barbarian went flying head over heels through the air and landed in a crumpled heap behind a massive row of demons, which suddenly closed in around him as quick as hungry sharks on a carcass. These demons were fast.

The sorcerer blasted lightning into the group, trying to break them apart, or at least fry their muscles to slow them down. The attack did neither, like sharks, they were hell-bent on one thing only. Saving the barbarian was definitely not on my priority list, but inconveniently, this mass of monsters was blocking the way forward. I cast a strong decripfy curse over the area, attempting to outshine the mage, to only have that fail as well.

The warrior ran forward and began blasting fireballs into the monsters with the hand under his shield and swinging his sparking sword in the other. He managed to get the attention of two demons, still leaving about a dozen more and there was still no sign of the barbarian.

The rogue used the opportunity to fire icy arrows into the backs of the necks of two demons at once. One of the demons suffered a mortal blow, though the other considered its wound a minor interruption at best.

I heard a loud shout and it seemed to carry some odd sonic power with it. Several of the demons blinked and backed away instinctively, an odd sight for monsters such as these. Much to my surprise, the body of a goat-demon was hurled into a mass of its fellows, knocking them over each other and onto the ground.

When I could see the barbarian through the mass of demons, he was sporting a few deep looking gashes across the tops of his enormous arms. I could smell the blood and feel the energy of injured tissue as I glanced over one injury in the bicep of the giant's right arm. It appeared that the weapon or weapons of whatever of the goat demons had gotten to him had sliced cleanly through his thick skin into the rippling muscle underneath.

Despite what I knew should have been a debilitating injury, the barbarian was holding his own. He caught a goat-demon under the chin with his enormous battleaxe, and the force was actually strong enough to send the demon into the air. Oddly enough, the man abandoned his weapon, trading it instead for the disoriented demon that fell flailing from the air. The barbarian snatched it around the ankles and used it as a fleshy polearm; he began whirling around at increasing speeds until he became a blur of movement. Caught in a whirlwind, blood and demon guts spewed everywhere as the horns and nails of the entrapped goat-demon the barbarian was swinging tore into them with incredible force. Then, as he had done to the last demon, the gigantic barbarian heaved the stunned demon he had been using into one that was attacking the rogue, knocking them both off of the platform and into the odd abyss beyond.

Like the she-cat had speculated earlier, the demons really did seem to fall into the nothingness until we could no longer see them, driving the point home to all of us not to even come close to the edge if we could help it.

I was amazed the barbarian was still standing after that display of strength with a critically injured arm. I vaguely wondered if he even registered pain at all. Another demon swarmed in behind him and he turned to counterattack, though slightly slower than was normal for him. This decrease in speed made the only move available to him grabbing the demon's bardiche with his sliced arm. He and the monster grappled fiercely for a moment over the weapon, then it became apparent that he did indeed feel something. He hissed, but the hiss soon turned into an extremely loud curse and an outcry of pain. I wasn't surprised this time; I saw one of the cords of his muscle actually snap under the strain.

He lost the battle he was fighting for control and staggered backwards, grasping his injury in reflex. The stumble put him in perfect alignment for a fatal strike from the demon.

The she-cat must have been inspired by his former actions. Without a moment's hesitation, she lunged like a striking cobra over the barbarian's head as he fell to his knees, tackling the demon not unlike a true lion would have. Her strength seemed to be equally matched with the monsters and the two wrestled on the ground for a few moments. The creature's thrashing exposed its muscular neck, and true to any feline predator, the saber-cat used her cat-like fangs and ripped into the flesh it had opened to her like a lion into a gazelle. It was a fierce display, but one that I actually took a moment to admire. After all, I had told her to dispatch these things like prey at mealtime, and she had done so without assistance. I love it when minions follow orders, not that they have a choice when it comes to me anyway. With me, it's do or die. Literally.

It looked like the others were fairing well as I looked around, save maybe the warrior. Two of the red demons were striking so fast he was barely able to parry the blows of one before the other would strike. He swiped his shield to the left, but the swift demon on the right managed to strike under it. Lightning fast himself, the warrior tucked his arm into his body, removing his exposed appendage from the strap of hi shield in the nick of time. The poleaxe of the demon crashed into the underside of the shield from the bottom, sending it flying upwards, a location which only moments ago had housed his left arm.

Shieldless, he took to parrying blows with his lightning-enhanced sword. The parries were enough to keep the monsters' weapons from directly hitting him, but the demons' attacks were only missing him by inches, displaced by his increasingly futile efforts.

"Give him room to breathe, monsters," the rogue growled as she fired an ice arrow into the right eye of the demon on his left. The creature brayed in fury, and charged forward, seemingly unaffected at first. I watched as ice began to spread outward from the wound, freezing the side of the demon's face. Off balance, the monster stumbled from side to side, into its comrade.

The sorcerer got a sly smile on his face and nodded to the warrior, whom pulled his sword into a ready position beside his shoulder. The sorcerer conjured a fireball and tossed it at the warrior, much to my surprise.

I thought it was actually going to hit the fool for a moment, but using his sword as a bat, he struck the projectile away from himself into the two demons. Upon the impact with his sword, the projectile seemingly had acquired some electrical properties, making it even more volatile, so that upon collision with the two hapless demons it exploded, mortally injuring both.

The druid's entourage of animals closed in around the remaining group of demons. The three mutts strategically targeted vital areas on a demon to their right and attacked together, bringing it successfully down. The druid's bear seemed to be working in conjunction with the bird; it waited until the bird had successfully distracted two of the demons before slashing into both demons with its monstrous claws, tearing them apart like a hot knife through butter.

The druid himself was helping the mercenary, he bashed a demon's knees backwards with his club and when it fell the mercenary skewered it at the base of the neck from behind. A final, lone demon rushed forward faster than most of us could really register and grabbed the druid around the neck from behind. The flame-haired man struggled fiercely, though he was unable to reach the monster. My guess was that his recently revitalized arm still lacked the complete range of motion it once held before his idiocy against Andariel.

I could see him start to turn blue around the edges of his mouth and I could physically sense the breath was almost completely gone from his body. All of his animals turned at once and rushed after him, but they would be too late.

Luckily for the druid the assassin lunged forward with her katars sparking. The lightning made the muscles twitch ever so slightly upon contact and though it did no actual damage, it did give away their location. That was one school of thought that had been reinforced in our recent fight with the dune beasts. Never assume demon anatomy is completely like things of the natural world. With a clear eye on her target the assassin heated her katars and expertly sliced across the top layer of the monster's muscles, severing key strands and incapacitating the creature's arm. It went limp immediately, dropping the druid. The paladin swiftly beheaded the creature while it was distracted, ending the demon threat on this platform. Well, almost . . .

As I said before, a bone shield wasn't a bad idea in the slightest. It took me far longer than usual in this bizarre locale to register the fire energy flying at me from the darkness. By the time the attack registered, it was close enough to hit me. I had just enough time to position my bone shield to absorb the blunt of the attack. I felt the heat and the impact, but other than that, I was unharmed. I scanned the area for the source of the attack and the new enemy. It was obvious we were dealing with another type of monstrosity; the demons we just fought lacked the capability to produce fire.

I scanned the blackness and couldn't find a single thing, though the others had also noticed this new occurrence and they too were on edge.

"Druid, ask your pigeon what just happened," I said bluntly.

"She is not a pigeon," he growled in the bird's defense, "but I already asked her. She can't see anything either," he admitted.

"Something's wrong," the rogue said and I saw the white-blue stars of her inner sight begin to light the area.

"Well there's a novel concept, rogue," I said plainly. "What do you see? Never mind, that was more than likely a waste of breath," I corrected quickly, seeing the look of confusion on her face.

"Maria?" the rogue asked skeptically.

"There! On ground!" the sorcerer exclaimed suddenly, having rooted out the trouble that was about to occur. Too bad like me, he noticed it a little late. I could vaguely make out an off rippling ring of orange light on the distorted floor and its mismatch of phasing colors.

Somewhere off to my right, an enormous fireball the size of a caravan wheel materialized out of the nothingness and smashed dead center into the rippling ring like an arrow to a bulls-eye target. The force of the impact sent pieces of the bizarre warping floor scattering everywhere and from what I could see, the newly formed holes in the floor began sparking light as dark, magical energy came flooding out.

The druid's brown mutt let out a pained yelp as a ray of light from the morphing floor washed over its foot and started corroding the skin like acid. The druid raced immediately to its side, and ran a glowing hand over the area, but it did little good.

I watched as the corrosion ate through the top layer of skin and began disintegrating some of the beast's muscles. The paladin raced over to the creature and began chanting, attempting to disperse the energy with his own magic, but to my surprise, that wasn't working either. Well, maybe not entirely to my surprise. His magic was just a fallible as mine in here it seemed. The mutt began to writhe and thrash wildly, howling in pain. If the corrosion wasn't stopped, the animal was going to lose its leg.

"Why isn't it working!" the rogue cried out in confusion, a look most of the others seemed to mimic.

"Stand back," the mage said authoritatively. "This fire magic, but it carry taint of demon. I use ice magic and stop it." Everyone did as he said and backed away from the shrieking animal, save him. He hastily set to work, casting an icy mist over his hands, weaving a spell from his arcane language. The amount of energy he poured into it was enormous, I could feel the mana leave his body, and yet, like the paladin, he wasn't having any success at all.

"What is it, mage of the dark skin?" the saber-cat asked anxiously as she watched him struggle.

"Look out!" the paladin suddenly commanded loudly. This time, I could see the ring on the ground clearly. My guess was that after his failed attempt to save the druid's mutt he'd redirected his energy back onto us.

His warning had given all of us just enough time to dodge away from the immediate projectile, though as before, the impact shattered the floor sending debris and negative energy everywhere. My stomach dropped into my knees; I didn't need the perception of the druid's bird to realize that the second impact had overlapped part of the first, and that the floor we were currently standing on had broken in half and was sinking downward into the black abyss.

"Get through the portal!" the assassin ordered as all of us made a hasty dash up the rapidly sloping platform, trying to get to the energy door at the end.

The druid had second thoughts. His mutt minion was completely illogical; its mind was obviously on the pain of its injury and not on its survival. The druid's mind was on his minion and apparently not on his survival either. The brown mutt, the druid, and the sorcerer were sliding rapidly down the sloping stone, dangerously close to falling into the nothingness.

The sorcerer grabbed the druid's wrist and then looped one dark arm under the brown mutt's neck. I heard a crackle of magical energy, and in a flash all three of them disappeared. I didn't give where they went a second thought, I lunged through the portal.

My foot hit a patch of uneven stone as I resurfaced onto some other platform and I stumbled. Luckily for me, the druid's bear was in front of me and I didn't fall far, just about a quarter inch into its furry side. It either didn't notice the impact or didn't care; it was too preoccupied with the enormous wall of flame that had appeared in front of it from nowhere.

"ALMINUS!" I heard the warrior yell in fear from behind me. I turned around and noted that everyone had made it off the platform, save the mercenary and the barbarian.

The mercenary yelled out in fear as his feet actually left contact with the platform and he began falling away. The barbarian selflessly grabbed the man's flailing arm with his good limb and then ran up the steep slope gaining speed as he went. I watched in surprise as the gargantuan made reached the end of the demolished platform and used the edge as a springboard for an enormous leap through this odd space. What was the man thinking? Well, let me rephrase that. What was he not thinking? I wouldn't lunge through this odd nothingness for all of creation. Well, I guess that it was either that, or fading into it for certain.

The rogue noticed their plight and used her innersight to reach out to them, seemingly guiding the barbarian's leap. I saw him reach out, but he was going to come up about an inch, or at least that's what I could judge, too short to reach the platform. Some unseen force pushed the two of them the last miniscule amount they needed and the barbarian latched onto the edge of our platform with his crippled appendage. I could feel the energy of the injured tissue and the pain he was giving off. He wouldn't be able to hold them for long. How had they made it in the first place? I didn't sense any magic of the sorcerer's and no one else here possessed telekinetic power that strong. Well maybe one. . .

I furtively gave the assassin a glance out of the corner of my eye. She was busy trying to extinguish the firewall that had surfaced in front of us and didn't even give the slightest notion of the duo's previous dilemma. Very, very odd and I say this because a mental gift that strong is only usually possible among mages, or very powerful psychics. And assassins, as it were, do occasionally use mental gifts, but nothing on a scale of that magnitude. They use devices and their martial prowess, because psychic energy that strong is usually akin to magic in their mind's eye. If this assassin I found myself fighting with has a mind that strong, then the others of her kind would have to be oblivious. They had to be, because that would be unnatural and they would have hunted her down like all the rest of us. They would have hunted her like a mage because she would have been just as great, or even more so, of a liability. A mind like that has the potential to be a threat, and in my opinion, a far greater one that one that is simply martial. Most people, even most mages, have much weaker minds than bodies. A talent like that, to destroy your opponent's mind before they even touched you, or in some cases, before they even knew you were there, could be lethal.

I shook it off. For now. My mind is better guarded than most, but as with all others, save maybe Lord Rathma himself, it is not impervious. It was a bizarre occurrence, as well as one that would keep me on my toes even more so than I had been. It was funny in a way, but not entirely unexpected. The second I get complacent is the second I always seem to notice something else that warrants my attentiveness. This was fortuitous, however. Right now I had no solid proof, but I had a suspicion that I definitely would investigate. And if I could confirm it, I could use this against her perhaps even better than her amorous feelings for the paladin. If things worked out the way I had a feeling they might, I could possibly set her own order against her. And here she thought she was the only one capable of discreet manipulation.

I could sense the saber-cat move in to assist the barbarian and the mercenary, and probably for their benefit, because she alone was the only one strong enough to pull them both up over the ledge. I heard the barbarian groan from behind me and the mercenary's pathetic breaths of gratitude as they were pulled onto solid, warping ground.

"Grovel latter imbecile," I demanded. "Or your soul might be joining this place." I saw our new adversaries as they began appearing around the edges of various platforms.

"I cannot put out," I heard the sorcerer exclaim in concern as he blasted ice onto the blaze in front of us trying to neutralize it.

"I can't stop the magic on Sky either," the druid said with a morbid expression on his face as he tried in vain to vanquish the fire burning his mutt's paw.

"That's because this isn't elemental fire," I said simply. "This is quaint," I said with a bitter laugh, recognizing what the current situation had come to involve. "Do any of you know what those are?" I asked.

"Ordinary people would call them vampires," the assassin said coldly. "They are undead mages with an odd ability to drain spiritual energy and turn it into energy for their own demented life-force."

"Mystery solved paladin," I said sarcastically. There are our little soul-suckers, right here."

"Brilliant, Piricus. Now how the hell do we get rid of them smartass? You're the walking tome on everything undead," the warrior hissed.

"However we do it, it has to be done fast. Sky doesn't have much longer," the druid insisted in worry.

The rogue notched her bow and aimed at a vampire to her right. "Neither do we," she said grimly as the fire closed in.


	16. Chapter 16

AN: Hey guys, life is hectic as always. Anyways, here's the latest. Thanks for reading and reviewing. Just an FYI there is a POV switch mid-chapter, I couldn't think of a way to make it flow better.

Assassin's Prerogative

Piricus

The druid's brown mutt continued its agonizing howls as fire burned all over its forelimb. I wasn't surprised however, that the druid didn't relent in his attempts to put the fire out, even seeing as it was now coming dangerously close to igniting over his own arm. Idiot. A human life wasn't worth that cost, and an animal definitely wasn't. Speaking of igniting, the druid's arm wasn't the only area of concern. All of us were rapidly being backed to the edge of the platform we had just come through, and since our previous platform had been destroyed, we had nowhere to go but into the nothingness that would be our end.

The rogue fired the enchanted arrow on her bow, aiming for one of the monsters on a platform to our right. I rolled my eyes, the likelihood that projectile would hit anything was slim to none. I blinked in surprise as it actually did hit. The ice-enhanced missile embedded itself deeply into the wrist of a vampire, severing the hand completely and carrying it away with the force of the impact.

"How'd you do that, young cub?" the she-cat asked, with her golden eyes staring down the shrieking vampire above.

"Do what?" the warrior asked.

"Her strike hit monster," the sorcerer said suddenly.

"Why would it reach these creatures and not the ones before?" the mercenary asked with a slightly panicked voice, as he hastily stepped backward from the encroaching flames in front of us.

"This fire, it has spirit energy," the rogue said with a concentrated look on her face. "Life energy. I can sense it with my inner sight. When they're about to use magic, it flares. Like that one there!" she hissed and loosed another projectile that landed in the neck of another vampire. The force of the arrow caused the creature to stumble and it fell into the blackness with a shriek. I didn't sense it die as it fell away into oblivion, but then again, I couldn't sense much here to begin with.

"Laurella, which ones are causing this wall? Take them down first!" the paladin said, eyeing the enormous crowd of monsters gathered on all sides of us.

The rogue got a strained look on her juvenile face as her inner sight suddenly burst to life all around us, staggering in several different directions at once, before fizzling out into nothing. The rogue herself staggered backwards with the backlash, into the hands of the warrior.

"Laurella, are you-?" the warrior began.

"I'm okay," she said as he steadied her. She took a ready stance once more, aiming to the left. "There are several of them, and they-or whatever it is controlling them- are very smart. They're all in different places. I don't think I'll be able to take them all down before this wall overtakes us," she said grimly.

"Damn! Too bad Chyemme ain't with us. Tha two o' ya coulda done it together," the barbarian exclaimed as he eyed the crowd of vampires nastily. He made to ready a throwing axe, but then winced and clutched his mutilated arm.

"Young cub, can you not light the way to even a few? I have skill enough with ranged weapons to land such a blow if you could distinguish me a target," the saber-cat said confidently.

"I can't. They aren't even remotely close together, and I need to focus on one to be able to land a hit at all," she admitted quietly.

"There has to be something," the druid said in a hurried, small voice. He took a step back with a defeated look on his face as his own mutt tried to bite his hand. The pain seemed to be making it savage.

"I don't know. Let me think," the rogue said in exasperation.

"Think faster if you can, young cub," the she-cat urged with the closest thing to fear I had yet to hear from her. The flames that were closing in had backed us all to the very edge of the solid ground.

"That's like me asking for a miracle from the paladin's God," I growled. "Not going to happen." I wasn't going to place my life in the hands of a little girl. I examined the creatures, and the fire they were producing, carefully analyzing it for any energy pattern I could recognize. If I could lock onto the pattern I had an idea that would prove highly useful.

"You can do it," the warrior assured. "I have faith in your skills," he continued as he placed a hand on her shoulder. A subliminal blush was creeping into the rogue's face when he touched her.

"Focus," the assassin demanded crisply, noticing the girlish occurrence.

The rogue's blush deepened; although I was sure it was because of the reprimand. She shook her head, then nodded. "I do have one."

I felt her inner sight activate and then a moving trail of stars started to take form and rocket towards the vampires like a target. It began bouncing from one to the other, forming a moving pattern from platform to platform honing in on one undead at a time. The rogue closed her eyes, and I felt her spiritual energy increase. She was using her inner sight as a moving path. The arrow on her bow began to glow a bright off-white color before she released it. Like a ship along the guided path of a light house the arrow followed in the wake of the inner sight trail, skewering one vampire to the left, then arching upward into one on a platform on the right, then to one behind us, and then into one in front of us. The firewall that was threatening us was weakening; the fire was becoming less dense with every opponent the rogue's attack struck down.

This guided arrow seemed to be doing more damage than all the rest of the rogue's attacks that I had ever witnessed, but my instinct told me there was a serious draw-back to using this. The whole universe is a system of checks and balances; even my own powers are a balance of life and death. Unfortunately for the rogue, her check soon became apparent. This energy channel she was using apparently worked both ways, and the monsters, or as she herself had said moments ago—whatever was controlling them—must have sensed it.

She dropped her bow and collapsed before anyone could say anything; the life energy was leaving her body at a rate that even I found dizzying. As they drained the rogue's life force away I could see the strength pouring into the creatures, making them even stronger.

"LAURELLA!" the warrior cried out in worry and raced to her side along with the paladin, whom began chanting over her body. I could feel that he was trying to close the energy pathway to her body, but he wasn't going to be able to do it quickly enough to save her life.

"DO SOMETHING!" the warrior yelled to us at large.

"Like what?" the mercenary asked leery as the flames started to regain strength, fueled by the energy the ghoul lords were stealing from the rogue.

I saw something stir in the assassin. Just a flicker, like before, but this time I knew it had to be her. She blinked, and suddenly the rogue's pathway was closed. That in itself wasn't much, but the look on her face afterwards was. She was scowling.

"Maria?" the sorcerer asked her hesitantly.

"She was right. These things are being actively controlled," she said, with a voice that had become deadly quiet.

"Controlled by wha'?" the barbarian asked slowly as the rogue groaned on the floor. "She's gonna be okay, righ'?" he asked in concern as he eyed the unconscious girl at our feet.

"A corrupted mage," she answered with dangerous sincerity.

"And how would you know this, assassin?" I asked with a sinister smile. I already knew the answer. When she intervened to save the rogue, she had placed herself in the pathway of that same psychic attack. She had seen the mind of whoever was behind these creatures. That proved my theory. Firstly, she would have to be extremely psychically oriented to be able to project her energy into the pathway of someone else and secondly to have seen the attacker proved that her abilities were very far beyond an assassin's normal bounds. She not only had entered the pathway to block it, but traveled briefly to the other end. Dangerous. Definitely dangerous. But not necessarily for me. She would have to watch her own back.

"Because it's my job to know. That's my prerogative," she said gravely.

"Well, that not a surprise. This evil place. Mage that make, even worse," the sorcerer said calmly.

"Well then, here's the real winner. There were two just now," the assassin snarled.

The sorcerer's skin paled several shades, if it were possible. "NO! It can no be!" he cried vehemently.

I started laughing, despite myself. "That didn't take long."

"What's he talking about?" the mercenary asked, leery.

"The sorceress," I said bluntly. "She took a little spill to the dark side."

All noise seemed to silence upon my remark, save the brown mutt's feral shrieking. Even the paladin stopped his attentiveness to the rogue to look at me in shock. The mage looked like someone had run him through.

"That can no be . . . that can no be!" he cried in anguish repeatedly.

"It is," the assassin hissed.

"What are we going to do?" the mercenary asked, hesitantly.

"I don't know about all of you," I said simply, having spotted the energy pattern I was looking for in the flame that was a hairs-width from my face, "but when someone attacks me, let alone betrays me, I kick their ass, then kill them. Which I will promptly demonstrate right now," I announced nonchalantly. The rogue's energy had been my own little beacon. I could clearly distinguish where I could distort the flow. Perhaps the mages that dealt in elemental energy could not combat or extinguish the flame, but I could. This was life and soul energy we were dealing with. This was my own prerogative. Fighting the flame or putting it out was not the solution. I would take the weapon of my enemy and turn it against him.

I reached back into the recesses of my mind to my necromancer training a few years ago. The skill I was about to employ was one of the last I had learned. In my mind, I had thought it was useless. What good was living flame? I'm a necromancer. I dabble in flesh, blood, and poison. Any useless mage could conjure fire. I had seriously rejected the idea when my teachers had insisted upon teaching us this technique instead of how to conjure Ward Bane, one of the more powerful poisons. But then, I remembered the words of Lord Rathma:

"_It is said that all things were made in fire. And because of this, in fire, life exists. By that same right, the right of balance, by fire everything can be undone."_

Maybe, just maybe, this spell would make me eat my words. I cast my own energy out into the blaze in front of us and focused. By my will and concentration, I overrode the already present command of the life energy in the fire, making it my own. I chanted the words of my arcane language to reform the living blaze at my command. I reformed the entire wall in front of us into a fiery golem that eagerly awaited my instruction. Life by fire, and that life force would now become my ambassador of death.

My first order of business: dispatch the vampires, and laugh at the sorceress. "Two can play at this energy game, sorceress," I laughed aloud, and watched as my golem channeled the backlash of flame back through the channel wince it had come. The vampires that had been holding connection to the energy that was holding the wall in place burst into flame with loud outcries and burned into ash on the platform. Once they were gone, I ordered the fire golem to destroy the rest of them. Unaffected by the weird presence of this place, my new minion began flinging fireballs in every direction, incinerating monsters where the missiles hit. The others watched my new creation and the havoc it wrought upon the undead around us. No one seemed to have objections, even the paladin. Even he would have to admit, I was making progress when no one else could.

I laughed heartily as the dramatically thinned number of undead began to turn tail and flee out of my line of sight. "Come back cowards," I called into the blackness with a laugh. "And here you thought you were the only one who could play with fire sorceress," I said with a smile. Our path was clear, I didn't hesitate in walking the rest of the way across this platform with my fire golem in front of me. I crossed the threshold of the red portal at the end, heartened by the fear I saw in the minions of my enemies. I think in this moment I understood the prey drive of the saber-cat. I was the hunter and they were the hunted.

The next platform was empty, much to my surprise. The others were not long in following after me, including the druid. To my further surprise, he was carrying the brown mutt, which was now unconscious. I eyed the beast's leg, which still burned.

"Cut that limb off druid, or lose your beast altogether," I said apathetically as I watched the blaze.

"Piricus," he began, though I could see the great detestment in his eyes, "Can you-?" he began.

"Not even if I wanted to, druid. That energy isn't alive. It came from the floor. If you can't fix your own mutt, why not put it out of its misery? It's certainly more quiet," I said simply, uncaring about the mutt or the man who owned it in the slightest.

I expected him to snap at me or retaliate, but he didn't. He got a choked look on his face as he laid the mutt on the color-changing ground.

"Human of the fire-hair, why do you hesitate? Arja are powerful creatures, though I detest them I will say that of them. Surely the loss of one limb will not be as much of a hindrance?" the saber-cat said, eyeing the odd display.

"I can't stop the fire. Even if I cut the limb, the magic has entered her veins. It'll kill her anyway. It will be an agonizing death," he said quietly. "I knocked her out, so that if Piricus couldn't stop the energy, I could—" he began painfully, as he silenced himself mid-sentence. The druid's grey mutt walked to his side and whimpered at it looked at him. The bird squawked and the bear actually roared. Then, together with the black mutt, the grey one let out an eerie howl.

"There's nothing else that can be done," the paladin said in sorrow as he watched the emotions storm within the druid.

The rogue, whom was in the arms of the warrior still unconscious, groaned in her oblivious state. The warrior was shaking with rage as he looked upon her and the druid's mutt.

"Why? Why would Vendra do this?" he asked with a snarl.

"She would not! She would never! Fiesty one have pure heart! She never harm friends willingly! She never take innocent life!" the sorcerer vowed with his own misery.

"Sovellis, can ya talk ter 'er at all?" the barbarian asked quietly.

"No. I no know why. Something block me," he said silently.

The rogue groaned something inaudible in her state of unawareness and I turned around just in time to see a vampire that was crouched on top of the portal we had just passed through, poised to strike. It had a clear shot at the druid and moved in for the kill. Or so I thought.

The creature reached out a clawed, decayed hand and with nails glistening, passed it over the mutt's leg. The fire dissipated instantly, and I could feel the energy leave the animal. The creature's hand began to quake tremendously, along with the rest of its body.

"What the hell?" the warrior snapped, mirroring my thoughts exactly.

Then, the creature croaked in a barely recognizable vocabularly, "Von kirrin somethrall thvridst. Seeta junstah, Delanith. Teedraf kidrin dosta, Jackass."

Everyone blinked, including me. I knew whatever the last part of what that thing said was directed at me.

"I don't speak stupid, sorceress," I said bluntly, before dispatching a fang of Trag 'Oul into the gut of the quaking monster, killing it.

"Okay, what was that about?" the mercenary asked, eyeing the smoldering corpse that had landed at his feet.

The sorcerer had an elated look on his face. "That was language of Zhan-Esu! Fiesty one, she no bad! She tell us to hurry, she no control monster much longer. She say she and Chyemme prisoner of dark mage Horazon and she show me way through maze. She heal fire on wolf leg," he translated.

"That doesn't make sense," the warrior grumbled. "Why would she attack us, then help us? And also, what did she say to Piricus?"

"She's entered into some sort of pledge with Horazon," the assassin added darkly, "She said to save herself and Chyemme, though I'm not sure I believe that. And to Piricus she said, hurry the hell up jackass, we're waiting."

"How'd ya know tha', Maria?" the barbarian asked.

"I understand the arcane language as well," she said bluntly. "Sovellis just gave you the version that translates best into what he's hoping for."

"I no hope, I know," he said decisively. "I know feisty one for very long time. I know heart of feisty one never be evil," he insisted.

"People change, don't trust to hope," the assassin said bitterly and swept forward without another word.

"Scorpious, can you do anything for her now?" the druid asked, eyeing the severely charred limb of his minion.

"I don't know. I could heal the issue and muscle damage probably, but I'm not sure about nerve damage. Even if I heal it, I'm not sure if she'll be able to even feel her leg or walk on it again," he admitted.

"What about Laurella?" the druid asked, eyeing her limp form as well.

"She will need to recover life force. That will take time," the paladin said in earnest.

"How long is she going to be out for?" the warrior asked uneasily.

"I'm not sure. Probably a while, judging by what she lost," he answered.

"What's the matter, paladin? Can't heal a mutt and a girl at the same time? What a letdown," I said sarcastically.

"And I would not forget your barbarian friend's arm," the mercenary said, eyeing the grotesque wound.

"Laurella's injury is not physical. I am trying to restore as much as I can as we go. Alminus, I can heal your arm if you give me a moment, and Cloudyous, I will try what I can for Sky, though I make no promises," he said as he gave me a defiant glance.

"Heal what you can," the druid asked humbly as the paladin washed his magic and a healing potion over the brown mutt's leg. When he was done, the limb still looked awful, but I could sense the greatly diminished trauma to the tissues.

The paladin took thread from a pouch at his waist and grimaced as he approached the barbarian. "I have to use something physical to reconnect your muscle strands the way they should be before I can use my energy and close the wound. I will try to be as quick as I can," he apologized.

The giant man nodded simply. "Don' worry. I've had worse."

"Sow quickly, old maid," I laughed. "We're keeping the sorceress waiting," I said with a scowl at the last part.

"All of you go ahead," the paladin instructed as he placed thread in his mouth to hold it in place. He strung it to a large needle he had pulled from his pouch as well. "Ryelass, leave Laurella here. Cloudyous, leave Sky. Alminus, I'll have you carry them when you're well and you three can fall back and recover while the rest of us fight until we can get out of here," he suggested.

"We need his help," the warrior insisted.

"They need him more and it makes no sense to have someone fight with an arm as injured as his. He could lose it permanently if he suffers any more damage to it," the paladin argued.

"Do not worry, human of the spark-sword. Our pride is still large enough to devastate our enemies. And you have a Fraja fighting with you," the saber-cat said with pride.

The warrior didn't look inclined to agree, but he didn't have time to argue. "Hurry quickly behind us," he demanded and we followed after the assassin, whom had taken lead next to the sorcerer.

******************************************************************************Chyemme

My entire body felt like I had been beaten, dragged through a myriad of thorn bushes, and then burned. I ached like never before. But, it was not only my body. My heart was experiencing the same pain. I knew where I was, contrary to the last time I had awoken from unconsciousness. I was in the Arcane Sanctuary of the most infamous demon mage in history. And worse still, my friend had traded her life and her very soul to protect mine.

I didn't know how much time had elapsed since my last fade into blackness, but I didn't see Vendra anywhere. I had been drifting in and out of awareness, but I had yet to see or hear from her or the monstrous man that called himself Horazon. I had tried psychically calling for aid, only to have it backfire on me every time, just like the first. I felt alone and trapped. I vaguely thought that I had a vision of Piricus and the others, but everything, reality and memory, seemed to be blending together here in this distorted space.

Why was it that I mentioned Piricus first in my thoughts? Did I really expect him to help me, let alone traverse goddess only knew how many dimensions and monsters to save me? He had said it himself, we were even and he wasn't helping me anymore. But still, I couldn't help but feel connected to him somehow. Especially after that half-dazed vision, if it was even real at all. I had to hope, I told myself. I had to put my faith in the light. Even if Piricus abandoned me, I knew that the rest of the group would not. There was still Vendra to worry about as well. In my opinion, they should be more worried about her anyway if they had any clue what was happening.

_He won't desert you,_ my mind told me as surely as day turns to night. Why? Why would I think this way? Piricus wasn't the model for human compassion and valor. He was egotistical, self-absorbed, and obnoxious. He said it himself that he'd drop my ass in the sand the second we hit Lut Gholeign or at the drop of a straw before then even.

_He said that, but he didn't_, my mind spoke aloud to me. Why? I asked myself once more. Why when I think of hope do I think of him? He is the last person I should expect to help me, my logical mind knew that.

_You see something in him no one else does_. That was the answer my mind gave me, plain and simple. What? What is it that I see? Was it a chance for hope? A chance for redemption? Why did I even care about such things? Why did I care about the soul of a man I hadn't even known for a full cycle of the seasons? I pondered these questions over and over, and I still found myself perplexed at the end. The only conclusion I came to was that I was connected to him somehow, and that is perhaps why I was reluctant to part with him. Wait . . . my thoughts suddenly turned to one realization. Was it possible that I was falling in love with him?

I gave that idea serious thought, before snorting indignantly to myself. "Whoa. Where did that come from? We're nothing alike. Zerae, I think I've taken one too many blows to the head recently . . ." I mumbled under my breath before I actually heard myself chuckle.

My laughter was silenced by enraged shouting. I could clearly hear Horazon's voice.

"YOU DISOBEYED MY ORDERS! THE LESSON ISN'T COMPLETE UNTIL YOU FULLY REALIZE THE CAPABILITIES OF THE GHOUL LORDS! THAT MEANS KILLING YOUR OPPONENT, NOT SAVING THEM!" he screeched furiously.

I strained, but I heard Vendra's fiery rebuttal. "Master Horazon, realizing the full capability of something means exercising opposite effects. Obtaining complete and total mastery of these demons in my mind means that they do whatever the hell I want them to when I want them to do it. And that includes overriding their predatory instincts and reversing damage when I command it to be so. Is that not what this whole lesson has been about?"

Horazon stopped his screeching, fell silent for a moment, then laughed. "Truly spoken with wisdom, but not with honesty. Your deed was not to exercise your dominion as it ought to be, but it was to spare your friends. Had dominion been your intent, I might have overlooked this, but this is a matter of disobedience and must be punished," he said sternly.

"Punished? I agreed to learn from you, not become a slave to you," Vendra snapped.

"A student must respect the master," he said plainly. "If you have no respect for me, then I fear you may turn on me, my dear," he continued.

"What are you going to do to me then?" she said, still with attitude.

"My dear, you have come a long way to recovering your great gifts, but you are not there yet. You are able to cast what you can now because of your connection to me. If you do not appease me, I can still cut that connection, you will lose your magic forever, and very soon after perish along with your bonded, remember?" he said with a demonically calm tone.

Vendra's fire died away. "Yes, I remember," she said quietly, defeat in her voice. "What punishment are you giving me then?" she asked, submissively.

I expected to hear Vendra scream, or for her to give some sign of physical torture, as I thought would be given by such a monster, but none came. In fact, Horazon's tone changed dramatically when he answered her.

"You have sworn fealty to me as a master, and we are connected by the arcane, this is certain. But, there is another way you may prove your respect and devotion to me. There is another oath you can swear, and in so doing, you will have my undying trust and I will not need to punish you," he said with an incredibly soft voice. It sounded like the voice Laurella used with Ryelass sometimes. I blinked in surprise when I realized what was going on. Horazon was in love with Vendra. I had no clue why this would be; I thought the only reason he wanted her is for a powerful apprentice and to further his cause. No. This made sense. There were far too many other powerful magi for him to just randomly pick her. Maybe he was first drawn to her because she had broken the elemental barrier, but there HAD to more to this than that. He picked her for a reason.

"What are you talking about?" Vendra asked. I could hear the clear unease in her voice.

"Swear your love to me," Horazon said with a honey-coated voice. "Swear your love to me in the arcane oath, bind yourself to me forever, and all will be forgiven."

"Excuse me?" Vendra exclaimed in shock. "I thought this was supposed to be a battle-oriented deal?"

"You heard my proposal. You understand it, well, maybe not entirely. I see the questions in your eyes. It may have been unbeknownst to you, but I have been watching you for a very long time, even before your adventures in the Westmarch. Even before your mage trials began. I have watched you since the moment you were born, great sorceress. I have seen your successes and your failures. Your gains and losses. I have seen that which makes you laugh, and that which hurts you. When I first learned to summon demons, one of the great ones, his name was Fordric, gave me a prophecy. He told me when you would be born and that you would come here. He even told me the route by which you would travel and in whose company you would arrive," Horazon began.

I was stunned. I hadn't been expecting anything like this. Apparently, neither had Vendra.

"This is ludicrous . . ." she said, clearly stunned herself. "Why would you watch me?"

"Patience never was one of your virtues," Horazon said with a bitter laugh. "I have prolonged my life over 400 years. For over four centuries I have waited to see you again, Mai, my teacher, and my love," he purred.

"You're crazy! I'm not Mai Miou! I'm Vendra Deconna, we're not even related!" she cried in exasperation. "Mai was the founder of all magic!"

"You are correct in that you are not related. You ARE Mai. You are she reincarnated. Your soul is the same, your body is different. You simply do not remember your past life through the veil the heavenly powers put on your sight. You do not remember your life, or me it seems. I will stir your mind. I will make you remember!" Horazon said powerfully.

I couldn't see anything, but I cried out in fear for my friend at the same time she screamed. I did not hear any sounds for moments afterwards, not even the sounds of a scuffle.

"VENDRA! VENDRA!" I cried out in panic, with the strength of my own voice shocking me. There was no answer. "HORAZON, BASTARD FACE ME!" I yelled afterwards, but still my only reply was silence.

Then, came the soft sounds of sobbing, and they sounded feminine. I was about to cry out, but Vendra's voice silenced me.

"You're crazy . . . that's not true," she said with pain in her voice.

"It is true! You saw with your own eyes!" he retorted harshly. "Think! It makes sense, doesn't it? You've had mastery of all three elements, but fire has always been your strongest, am I wrong? You could speak with elementals by the time you were five, you could read minds, albeit selectively at a young age also, and you are connected to Horadric objects. You knew it when you picked up the Horadric Malus! You and I, we were unstoppable, Mai. You were my teacher! ME! The great Horazon! I was your best student! I was your favorite, and you were mine. Of all the teachers I had you were _mine,"_ he practically shouted with an obsessive tone that he emphasized on his last word. "You were everything to me, my teacher, my best friend, my lover- don't you remember? That's why I had to find you when Fordric told me you would be reborn! The only way I could bring the Horadrim victory and the only way I could prolong my life and be with you again was to master the demonic!" he cried out loudly.

"I thought you did what you did for the Horadrim?" Vendra croaked quietly.

"FOR YOU! I did it for the Horadrim because they meant everything to YOU! And then when you died—I knew I had to find you!" he shouted possessively.

"Not true, not true—" Vendra hiccupped.

"Why are you weeping, Mai? We are reunited at last! Mai, take your place by my side and we will conquer everything, hell, sanctuary, and even heaven!" Horazon raved.

Vendra didn't stop crying, which worried me even more greatly than Horazon's obsessive, disturbing claims. Surely she didn't believe this madness? Mai Miou was supposed to be a Horadrim hero. Granted I hadn't heard many of the stories but all the ones I had were positive. Even if Vendra did believe this nonsense, why was she crying as if she were a villain herself?

"Mai," Horazon said, voice becoming tender, "Swear your love to me and we will be together forever, as it should have been."

Vendra didn't answer at first. Silence ensued, then her answer. "And if I refuse?" she asked, a powerful bitterness coming to her voice.

"Then I will take from you all you hold dear, starting with your friends that are invading my sanctuary and ending with your family and all of the other members of the Zhan-Esu!" he snarled. "Why! WHY DO YOU REFUSE ME STILL!" he thundered.

Still. . . There was something that he hadn't told her or something she hadn't been shown. A key part of this puzzle was still missing.

"You love someone else. . . ." Horazon said, his voice going deadly and cold. "Him . . ." he snarled. "OF COURSE, IT'S ALWAYS BEEN HIM!" he screeched infuriated. I felt the ground shake, which traveled up the pole I was tied to. This was going to get ugly fast.

"You killed me," Vendra said quietly. "You killed me because I was in love with someone else and wouldn't be with you. You were crazy then. Crazy and deluded and you still are now! I remember . . ." Vendra said with a tremble in her voice. Suddenly Vendra started laughing hysterically. I wondered for a moment if she herself had gone mad.

"What will you do now, oh master Horazon?" she said sarcastically. You can't kill him. If you do, you kill me too. And if you cut your connection to me as you claim, then I will die and all of this will be for nothing. Little bastard, you've got your hands tied!" Vendra exclaimed with venom.

"Sovellis . . ." I said with shock. She loved him as more than her family? I wondered if he knew?

Horazon's tone was nasty in his reply. " There is one final thing you must do before your magic can be fully restored, and when it is, I propose this. I will dual you to the death in a match between us for your freedom and that of your friends. If I cannot have you, no one will," he hissed.

"Why go through the trouble of giving me a fair match?" Vendra asked sourly. "That seems awfully generous of you."

"Because you will see that I have become greater than you. This pure love, this pure magic, I'll show you how weak it really is," he snarled.

"Accept and let us move forward, my dear Mai, or do you need incentive?" he hissed and with those words I was screaming in agony as magical cords burned into my flesh and from out of nowhere, slug-like demons appeared out of the pole I was tied to and began burying their claws into my sides. One claw even went so deep as to pierce the plated armor in my left leg.

Vendra came racing around the corner into view with a morbid expression on her face. The expression soon turned to rage. "Deal," she snarled. "What's the last step?" she thundered as she turned to face the demon mage as he surfaced into my view also.

"This will amuse you, Mai. To save a life, or in your case two, you must take one. There is no way to recharge the spiritual energy you have lost. You must take it from another. That is why I have spared this daughter of the isles. When I was going through your memories I saw that she is a dear friend to you, she reminds you somewhat of Anna. I could not bring myself to have you kill her as I originally planned, so that was the purpose in draining the life from your little rogue friend. I saw great pain in her soul and still more pain in her future. I thought it would have been more merciful to, as you say, put her out of her misery, but your disobedience and the intervention of your warrior friend- whom I might add has quite a mental talent-have left you little choice, and little time to act. You will either kill the daughter of the isles here and now or you will lose your life and this Sovellis will also lose his," Horazon said ruthlessly. "The choice," he said, handing her a sacramental dagger, "is yours. You know the spell. And Mai, you have about three minutes to decide this, seeing as what's left of your spirit force will only last that long with divine intervention," he said in a heartless voice.

Vendra and I exchanged glances momentarily, the pain had abated, though the demons where still holding me down.

"I won't," she said flatly.

"Then you choose death for all of you, because I'm about to personally go deal with the rest of your little band after this scene is closed," he said dangerously.

"How do you know he's not lying Vendra? About everything?" I asked quickly.

Vendra looked away painfully. "I've had bits and pieces of the full revelation he gave me just now all my life. I know that it's the truth. And as for my spirit energy . . .I didn't realize that part until just now, as you can tell I've been dealing with some serious personal issues," she said sarcastically, "but," she said with a grimace, "that part is also truth."

"There has to be another way," I said, a knot forming in my stomach.

"There is not and she knows it," Horazon said apathetically from where he watched us behind his demonic golden mask.

"I won't," Vendra said again, shaking her head as she looked at me. "I will not kill my friend."

"Not even for Sovellis?" Horazon sneered.

"I . . ." she stuttered miserably.

"What do you owe this woman, Mai? Other than fighting alongside her, you know nothing about her. You barely know her at all. In my mind, it's the same as killing a stranger," Horazon said bluntly.

"Shut up!" Vendra snarled.

"Listen to me. You love Sovellis. You love him dearly. This woman doesn't even compare to that feeling. As for the others, just say I killed her. They wouldn't know," Horazon continued eerily. "You're down to two minutes," Horazon stated as simply as he would tell you the sky was blue.

"I. . . Sovellis. He doesn't deserve this . . ." she whispered.

"That's right. He doesn't. You deserve to live, Mai. This one act of evil might allow you to do thousands of acts of good. Everything is about balance Mai. What is the greater good?" Horazon said seductively.

"The greater good is nine lives over one," she said quietly.

"Vendra. . ." I said quietly.

In an instant, my mind took me back to the rogue monastery. Poison and pain were creeping through my body and I was going stiff. I was going stiff and the only things I could see or hear were the clawed, bloodstained feet of the queen of hell and the screeching of the gigantic demoness that was going to take my life. I didn't have any hope. None at all. My life was going to end, none of my friends could help me. I was going to die helpless and alone. I saw the barb that would have ended me, and then I saw the white shield that somehow was glowing in the darkness. And I saw the white-haired warrior that stood over me. He was yelling at me, I had no idea what he was really saying, my mind was fading fast. But one thing he said to me jarred me from my encroaching death. He called my name. He said my name and then he managed to cure me with an antidote enough that I could see his face. He was afraid, I had seen that in him. And I don't know whether it was Andariel or me that scared him more. When I had been free, I kissed him. That had been a complete impulse, or was it? He had given me back the most precious thing I had at the time, my life. He had saved what was most precious, even if it was only to pay back a debt. He had given me back the hope that comes with life. The hope for a future that I wanted to make better for everyone. I realized then that I really did love him. That hope was why I had been attracted to him in the first place. When I met him, I hoped he could take me off the island. When we went to the rogue lands, I hoped he could help me find adventure and help others along the way. When I nearly died in the rogue tower, I hoped he could help me, when I almost died facing Andariel, I hoped he would save me. And funny thing was, he hadn't let me down yet. I realized then, just how much Sovellis must have meant to Vendra.

"Do it," I said at last. "Take my life. There's no reason for you and Sovellis to die. Live so that you two can be together all the days of your lives, and realize what you mean to each other. You need to live for him, Vendra," I said with fear and anticipation building in every muscle of my body.

Horazon's steely grey eyes looked me over, and then he started laughing. "A willing sacrifice! So selfless, daughter of the isles. What are you waiting for then Mai? You have her consent! Kill her!" he urged.

Vendra looked at me, uncertainty in her eyes. "Chyemme. . . ."

"You have to make it out of here and help Ryelass destroy Diablo!" I shouted. "And," I added with a growl in his direction, "you need to live so you can kick this little midget's ass."

She took a step forward, dagger in hand. "Chyemme . . ." she said again.

"I understand how you feel about him, Vendra. I love someone too. That's why you need to live. I have no regrets, my soul will rest with Zerae and the other deities, do it before it's too late!" I said with tears starting to well in my eyes. I'm not sure if I was just emotionally upset or scared of death. Either way if one life could save two, then it was worth it.

"Chyemme," she said again as she drew within striking distance, a tremble in her voice. She drew back the hand with the dagger and took aim. She didn't say anything to me, but tears streamed down her face as she landed her blow. I flinched and looked away, expecting the pain that surprisingly didn't come. Maybe that was it? Maybe my death had been that quick? Was I in heaven?

A loud shriek next to my ear told me otherwise. I opened my eyes as black, thick demon blood poured over my arm. Vendra had stabbed the demon holding my leg and seemed to be channeling the essence of the other that restrained my arms so that it released me and somehow released my bindings too. I dropped to the floor in a dazed heap.

A strong arm grabbed mine as Vendra pulled me to my feet. "Chyemme, Scorpious would be proud, but jackass simply isn't worth it," she said with a familiar tone of sarcasm coming momentarily back to her voice.

"You choose death?" Horazon asked, clearly stunned.

Vendra straightened herself up to her full height. "Chyemme's soul may rest well in the afterlife, but in taking hers, or Laurella's or anyone else's life mine wouldn't. I'd damn myself. I don't know about you midget, but some things are worth dying for, and an eternal life in hell or in this plane of existence in your case, just isn't one of them. Offer declined," she hissed with every bit of her normal fire flaring back into her body.

"I see. So what will you do? Try to kill me? We're bound," Horazon laughed.

Vendra laughed too. "So you think. Kiss this, you obsessed freak," she growled and tossed the dagger she was holding at Horazon's face.

He hadn't been expecting the strike and the dagger grazed the side of his demon mask, causing a large spark. Other than leaving a scratch in the metal, the attack might as well have missed.

"When I took my oath, I vowed to 'sever' my ties to you as a master, not 'serve'. The Elimi word for serve means sever when pronounced with a long O at the end. Remember incantations for beginners? Annunciation is everything," Vendra said with a sly smile.

I could feel the fury coming from the mage in front of us and I knew that Vendra had no time, and no energy left for anything else. I stepped in front of her. I had nothing but my hands, but by Zerae I would not let Vendra down.

"Well fought, my friend. I will take care of the rest," I said as I eyed her distraught look sympathetically.

Horazon laughed. "This was not your fight, daughter of the isles. But since you, insist, go ahead and try. I'll destroy you before you come within striking distance," he said as icy energy rippled onto his hands.

"Don't tempt her. The amazon is slightly more hostile than most women," came a disinterested drawl from behind me. I'd know the voice anywhere. Piricus was standing at the foot of the stairs on a platform above us. Beside him was a walking mass of flame that flickered with malice as each second passed by.

"I believe these are yours," he said with the sly smile I knew all too well. The flaming creature at his side hurled several black objects at Horazon that landed just shy of his feet. They looked like the heads of zombies with large fangs. They had been charred black.

"Ah. A true stroke of talent, necromancer. Turning my soul flame into a golem that serves you. Impressive indeed, but not good enough to best a master of the ages," Horazon said coolly and without warning, Piricus' golem evaporated into nothing as demonic black ice burst from inside of it. One of the shards buried itself into Piricus' side. It must have gone deep. Blood started pouring from the wound and he staggered backwards and fell. I couldn't see him or hear him for the odd environment.

"PIRICUS!" I shouted in worry with my own fears taking hold.

Twin fireballs, a throwing knife, a spear, two throwing axes, a barrage of icy arrows, and three fire bombs went flying through the air all aimed at Horazon from different angles. They didn't even come close. The fireballs evaporated into nothing as they hit some type of magical barrier, the ice diffused into nothing and the physical weapons melted. The potions suddenly turned into blue goo as their ingredients were nullified. I heard an explosion and saw lightning spark over an area on a platform to our left. I heard confused shouts and knew the others were there.

"Is this your big rescue, Mai?" Horazon said bluntly as he looked around. "This is pathetic," he said sourly. He waved his staff around in a circular motion and I watched in horror and a sense of morbid awe as meteors began raining down from nowhere, striking at places on the platforms I couldn't see. The impacts were powerful and violent; I could feel the explosions from where I stood out of harm's way. Horazon whirled his hands and then demonic, purple lightning started striking around the places the meteors weren't. Horazon mumbled something and then black ice spires started flying around like leaves in a windstorm. I had to drop to the ground to avoid being impaled. No one could move, wherever the others had stationed themselves, they had been pinned down by the monstrous force of Horazon's magic.

I heard an enraged roar and knew that Gaia the grizzly must have just suffered an injury followed by a pained shout from a male voice to the left. I heard screams as a meteor collided with the lightning and the explosion blasted a platform apart. I could smell blood from above, and it scared me.

"Where is your great love now, Mai?" Horazon continued as he stared her down icily. All around us, chaos reigned as the elemental magic of Horazon sprayed everywhere with a vengeance. Without warning, Vendra collapsed onto the floor.

"Si tirith, Sovellis. . ." she whispered before she fell still and silent.

My heart stopped as I looked at her. Had she just died? Just like that? Pain filled every part of my body and it had nothing to do with any physical part of me. I felt like someone had just taken a piece of my soul out. I had just lost a friend. A friend had chosen to give her life, and the life of the one she loved, to save me. Rage started to funnel into my being with the enormous grief.

"BASTARD! BASTARD HOW COULD YOU JUST LET HER DIE IF YOU LOVED HER!" I roared like a lion.

His evil grey eyes didn't stir from mine even for a moment. "She's not dead yet. She has about thirty seconds left. I suspect that she can still hear you in her subconscious mind. You have time to say goodbye, daughter of the isles. Though, personally you will all be joining her in that amount of time, so to me it would be a waste," he said apathetically. "Such a waste. Mai . . ." he mumbled, "you always were too pure for your own good. You'd have lived if you'd have been mine . . . you could have ruled everything," Horazon said to her, ignoring everything else completely.

I tried to return to my feet, but to no avail. A stray branch of haphazard lightning grazed my arm, burning a black streak across it. I clutched it tightly in pain and looked around in despair. Evil fire, demonic lightning, and black ice were occupying every inch of this place and destroying everything that was solid, including the platforms above us. I guess Horazon didn't really care much for the sanctuary, he was destroying it as much as he was trying to kill us. The platform above us gave a deadly crack and began to fall towards us. I grabbed Vendra's limp form and rolled us both out of the way at a moment to spare. Horazon started to walk over to where she lay and I crouched over her protectively, not knowing what else to do. He seemed unaffected by the chaos of his own magic, but it seemed to me with every step he took his sanity further deteriorated.

I saw more magical attacks and even a holy bolt from Scorpious fly toward the menace, but like before, nothing came close. Somehow Horazon managed to deflect them all without even moving.

"Your friends are stupid Mai. They give themselves away. I know where all of them are . . ." he droned in a dull voice as he continued to walk toward us.

"Stay away from us!" I hissed. "Leave her alone!"

I almost yelped in terror as the crazed demon mage reached down to touch me. He wasn't what scared me. A grotesque mass of bloody flesh erupted from the floor next to me and coalesced into a bulky, sanguine arm of some type of creature. The creature soon took full shape into an undead abomination that resembled something between a skeleton, a human being, and a rotting golem. The creature was solid red and covered in blood. The acrid smell it was giving off was enough to almost knock me out. I suddenly realized why the smell had been so strong. This undead creature was made of blood and had rotting flesh beneath it only to give it structure.

The hideous new being grabbed Horazon's ankle and the blood of its arm started to burn into the mage like acid. Horazon either didn't notice the pain, or didn't care. The golem started absorbing the melting flesh of Horazon into its own composition and by that right, it seemed to be transforming it into life energy with which it bolstered itself and something else. I vaguely thought this new horror was something of Horizon's doing, but then I realized that he would never let one of his own demons attack him. Something, no, someone else was controlling this creature. I immediately knew the answer; no one else was capable of such a thing. Piricus had conjured this creature.

"Risky, risky. But you will not keep me away from Mai," Horazon said with an eerie apathy in his tone. He grabbed the creature's bloody arm and demon fire flowed from his fingers. I was thoroughly confused when Piricus' creature immediately relinquished its hold on Horazon and drew back to the edge of the platform. Was even this grotesque monster too weak to defeat Horazon? Was Piricus going to be able to help us this time, or was this ancient demon mage something even he couldn't defeat?

"The last seconds of your life Mai, I will count them for you," Horazon said in a bizarre mix of devotion and hatred. He flicked his wrist and I went flying sideways, propelled by some unseen force. Horazon knelt over Vendra's body and made to take her head in his hands. "Ten . . . now nine . . ."

"That will be more than enough time for me to finish you, demon summoner," came an enraged snarl. I coughed in surprise as Maria suddenly materialized from nowhere. She had been on the platform a split second ago, and seemingly teleported right next to Horazon. I didn't even have time to call a warning before all three of Horazon's demonic elements crashed into Maria's form. I didn't have time to call the warning, but she didn't need it. In fact, I couldn't really see much of Maria anymore. It looked like she had faded away, and that is the best way I can describe it. She looked as only a spectral illusion of her former self. To my surprise, the demonic magic passed right through her. Horazon threw up some sort of energy barrier, as more attacks passed onto Maria.

Maria used her now spectral katars and seemingly collected the energy of each attack within them as she deflected every projectile that was sent her way. Her katars started sparking with a rainbow of colors and purified elemental energies as she crashed one through Horazon's shield and the other into his abdomen. Lightning, ice, and fire exploded in an array of colors and temperatures and smoke filled the air accompanied by the smell of burning flesh. Through it all, a demonic laugh was heard. I couldn't believe it, but Horazon was still alive, even after that.

He flicked his wrist at the same time Maria went flying into the floor, regaining her corporeal form as she did so. Evil light reflected in his eyes and off his mask. The spot Vendra had slashed sparkled in the light of his madness and our impending destruction as everything around us wavered from the force of the dark magic Horazon had unleashed. The mask . . . that was the key.

"MARIA THE MASK!" I shouted in panic, unsure if she could even hear me anymore. "Hey Horazon," I said, an idea formulating. "Mai said she'll always consider you a little freak!" As expected, he turned to me, rage in his eyes. "Mai will never be yours. She loved Sovellis with her last breath!"

Maria did hear me. And she acted. While Horazon was distracted, she grabbed a katar that had landed next to her and in a blink, she was gone. She reappeared in a blur above Horazon and came crashing down with a fire-enhanced katar. Black and red light stormed through the area as Maria sliced the demon mask in half cleanly off Horazon's face and sliced the flesh beneath it also.

This time, he really did die. I could feel the energy leave his body and it was as if someone blew out a candle. The raging magic around us faded into the nothingness and everything was still. I felt a tear slide down my cheek as I realized one of the energies I felt leaving was Vendra's. Black and red light swirled together and then for some reason, became white. That white light then plummeted into Vendra's body and before anybody could react she sat up, drew in a deep breath, and looked around.

"Where am I?" she asked, shakily looking at herself and then looking around.

"Alive. Which is quite frankly, a Trag 'Oul damn miracle, sorceress," Piricus growled as he limped down a partially destroyed staircase, clutching his bloody side.

"It's a miracle for any of us!" Ahmad exclaimed as he surfaced into view above us and to the left. He was supporting Cloudyous, whom was limping heavily.

"What just happened?" Laurella asked meekly, looking around at the aftermath of the wonton magic and the carnage that was Horazon's corpse.

"The assassin just demonstrated what an amazing killer she is," Piricus said flatly. "You've served your purpose," he said to his monstrous creation that still lingered in the corner. I watched in awe as Piricus formed that mass of tissue and blood back into solid blood, then reabsorbed it into his own body, effectively healing his deep wound. He straightened up and stretched.

"It had to be done," Scorpious said sadly. "This poor man's soul was obviously possessed."

"That was the power of an infamous mage? Doesn't seem like too much," Ryelass said brushing the stone debris out of his armor. I had no idea if he was being serious or if that remark was meant to be sarcastic.

"This wasn't the real Horazon," Maria said bluntly, examining the corpse of the man she had just killed apathetically.

"Then what the hell was all this magic?" Ryelass asked in annoyance.

"So you killed an innocent person?" Ahmad asked dubiously.

"No," Maria said, an anger coming to her words. "I don't kill the innocent. This man is an impostor, but he was still a dark mage. He was nowhere near as powerful as Horazon should have been."

"Then wha' 'bout tha real Horazon?" Alminus asked dubiously.

"He's dead," Vendra said, silencing all the rest of us. "The mask contained what was left of his essence. I just saw it. The man wearing the mask was some poor soul Horazon lured into serving him with promises of untold power. The mask possessed him you could say," she said quietly.

"Vendra, how are you still alive? I thought I felt you . . .?" I trailed off, not daring to finish the sentence.

"Die? We did. Both of us," Vendra said, looking around for Sovellis. "I could feel my soul energy leaving and then it was weird, something recharged it and brought me back."

"It last essence of demon mage. He use his energy to give yours back, feisty one. Why he do such a thing?" Sovellis asked and Nira carried him down the stairs in her furry arms.

"Because, I think Sovellis that despite everything that happened, at his last moment he feared for his soul and tried to atone for everything he's done. To me," she whispered, "and to you."

"Feisty one, I no understand what you saying," Sovellis said as Nira set him down and he stumbled.

"I will tell you all about it later," Vendra promised, with a soft tone coming to her voice.

"Well now that you're all hunky dory, assassin are you going to kill her too?" Piricus asked, eyeing Vendra and Maria in distain. "If you don't, I will. Sorceress, no one attacks me with minions and lives to tell about it," he growled.

"You did perform demonic magic," Maria said icily. "Viz Jaq'Taar code is very clear on what has to happen."

"She did it to save my life. He'd have killed me if not for Vendra. And she never bound herself to him, despite what it looks like I will vouch for this with my life," I said stoutly.

"Still. There is always another option," Maria growled.

"No. There was not," I said and in a purely instinctive move, I placed myself in front of Vendra. "If you kill her, you'll have to kill me to. That would only be right. A life for a life," I insisted.

Maria scowled and then sighed as Scorpious placed a hand on her shoulder.

"The demon mage himself made an attempt to be forgiven. You should forgive too, Maria. What was done was done to protect life," Scorpious reasoned.

"She saved Sky," Cloudyous pointed out.

"And she delayed the attack that could have taken my life. I felt it," Laurella added quietly.

Maria hissed, clearly angry, but then she sheathed her katars. "You are walking a line that has faded beneath your feet. You're walking on air now, so one more episode like this and I will have no other choice but to end you. I will not give any more chances or any more warnings," she said crisply.

"Well, that's all well and good, but I think I might finish her for you assassin," Piricus hissed. "That ice bolt in my side hurt like a bitch," he growled.

"That would be your call, then wouldn't it?" Maria said plainly.

"I wouldn't finish me yet, jackass. And stop being such a baby. I'm the one who just died here. I know where Horazon—well at least the summoner, kept his journal. It has the symbol of the tomb of Tal Rasha. If we hurry we can make it there before Diablo," Vendra sassed.

Ryelass was suddenly very game. "Let's get moving, then!" he insisted.

Scorpious gave Maria a gentle glance, and she scowled, but nodded. We hastily followed Vendra down a pathway to a room with a large pedestal and on it sat an ancient looking book, covered in arcane runes. The whole thing was giving off an evil aura, even though it was just a book.

"You're the only one that can open it without triggering a magical trap. Do it and don't waste time," Maria said dangerously.

"Maria, I don't want anything to do with this type of magic, ever again. Believe me. Here it is, the symbol of the true tomb. A crescent moon," Vendra said as she thumbed through the pages swiftly.

"How do we get there? To the Canyon of the Magi?" Nira asked.

"I know a spell that will take us there, Horazon taught it to me—well, the mask . . ." she mumbled.

"We need to regroup with Lord Jerhyn and Elder Cain first. And we need our injuries mended," Scorpious reminded.

"Why? We should just go now! Damn it, it might already be too late!" Ryelass said impatiently, mirroring the urgency I'm sure we were all feeling.

"We need to be in the best shape we can and armed with the best knowledge and weapons possible. We are facing the Lord of Terror, not some quill rat," Scorpious insisted.

"Master paladin poses a valid point," Nira began respectfully. "If I may, if I am allowed to meet with your human mage, Adria once more it might be possible for me to summon more of my pride and those with which we are allied to help us fight this arja called Diablo. We would be valuable allies to you," she offered.

"Tha' would be n' 'normous help, buddy," Alminus said wisely.

"Well then, how the hell do we get back to Lut Gholeign?" Ryelass continued angrily.

"I have a spell for that too," Vendra offered.

"Lut Gholeign it is," Scorpious announced.

"Not yet," Maria growled. "There's one thing that needs to be done still," she said, eyeing the journal with a sour expression.

"Done," Vendra said solemnly and without warning, the whole book in her hand burst into flame.

"You have your magic back," Ryelass noticed.

"Yes. And I have never been more grateful," Vendra admitted.

"Save the spiel, sorceress. Just get me the hell out of here and I won't blast you," Piricus growled.

"Sure thing," she said, for once not trying to pick a fight. She opened her palms and cast a glimmering blue portal in front of us which we all eagerly stepped through, save Maria. I looked back and watched as she walked over to the burning book of dark magic and slammed a sparking katar into it causing it to explode. The thousands of pieces continued to burn as I called out to her.

"Maria?" I asked cautiously.

"I'm coming. I just needed to add one more for good measure and make sure it was destroyed. With these things you can never be too careful. The past has a way of coming back and biting you in the ass. Move out, Chyemme, we need to hurry as fast as we can," she said with an odd tone in her voice before she and I walked through Vendra's portal into the daylight of Lut Gholeign.


	17. Chapter 17

Preparations

Chyemme

Daylight was refreshing as we stepped back into one of the deserted back alleys of Lut Gholeign. The desert sun on my face gave me a warm feel and actually relaxed me some. I was actually smiling, despite the dire circumstance we now found ourselves in. Hope had prevailed once again. Everyone, including Vendra and Sovellis had made it through Horazon's final vengeance alive. In fact, Vendra was alive and restored, oddly enough because of Horazon. Why had the man that was so intent on her, and even willing to kill her if he could not posses her, given his final essence to save her? Was it truly penance, as Vendra had said? For a demon summoner whom hated heaven, it seemed highly unlikely to me. No. He saved her because he loved her. That was the only real logic. Maybe somewhere down deep, the monster that was Horazon really had retained some claim to humanity.

I looked up, startled as the rich color of a midnight blue robe caught my eye. Adria the witch was standing before us, as if she had been expecting us. The white streaks in her raven hair seemed to me to suddenly be an odd contrast. Black and white. The colors representing good and evil. It made me wonder briefly that if every life, including mine was a battle between the two. My life and, his life . . . I thought as I looked over a few feet away, where Piricus was leaning against a wall with his arms crossed, eyeing Adria like a hungry hawk watches a mouse. The dislike for her was written all over his face, though I was somewhat amused. I could clearly see that something had transpired between the two when I was absent. The look he wore now was almost as bad as the one he had when he met Scorpious for the first time.

"Adria," Scorpious began, obviously about to explain.

She held up a pale hand to silence him. "There is no need to explain. I have seen all. There is not much time left, you must hurry. Lioness, step forward," Adria said, cutting directly to whatever point she was about to make.

Nira stepped forward cautiously; I could sense that she held respect for Adria, but a great deal of mistrust. "Magess, how did you-?" she began.

"As I said, I saw all that transpired. I heard what you proposed and I am willing to make it so. I fear that we will need all the assistance we can get if we are to stop the Lord of Terror from unleashing Baal upon us as well. Go quickly to your pride, lioness. Cry the roar of battle to the Frasa and stir them to action."Then Adria removed a small bundle wrapped in tan sackcloth from underneath her right sleeve. "Take this to Ketan, he will know what to do," she instructed.

Nira eyed the parcel mistrustingly, but then extended a paw-like hand to accept it. "Masters," Nira said respectfully, turning to Scorpious and Piricus, "I will return as quickly as I am able. This arja shall not prevail. Our combined might shall crush him beneath our claws. In my absence," she began, "I wish that you remain the distir and all your foes fall before you."

"Leave, kitty-cat. I have no time for sentimental goodbyes. Trust me, I'll still be alive when you return," Piricus said flatly.

Scorpious nodded, though his reply was far more kind. "Go quickly and under the protection of grace," he affirmed.

"Off you go," Adria said simply and I watched in awe as the image of Nira wavered in front of us and thinned until she became translucent, and then faded away into nothing. It was odd. Adria appeared to be trying to conservatively use her magic, when she had teleported Nira there were no loud noises or flashes of light. Adria was trying not to draw attention to herself.

_A talent that has served me well, I daresay_, I heard Adria's voice clearly in my mind. I nearly jumped because it was unexpected, but relaxed not long after.

_Not everything has to be flashes and sparkles, Chyemme. Some magics, some of the strongest there are, are both subliminal and unexpected,_ she continued. I followed her deep blue eyes as they flickered from me to Piricus for the briefest of moments and a small smile traced her lips.

I titled my head in confusion. What was she talking about?

Piricus gave me an icy glare, that same scowl never left his face for a moment. His eyes passed from me to Adria. Adria also seemed to notice his gaze and turned around to face him.

"That looks like it hurt," Adria said with a mischievous tone as she eyed Piricus' exposed side, which was bruising fiercely and still covered in dried blood.

His steely gaze didn't falter for a second. He didn't speak aloud at all, though his sour expression never changed and said mountains for him. Adria watched him in amusement and laughed again after a moment. "I see. So you're finally learning to play well with others?" she said aloud, making everyone look at her and him strangely.

"Can it, gypsy," Piricus growled nastily, "You've said it yourself we don't have time for games."

She chuckled with mirth. "What's life without a little fun? But, ah yes. A deal is a deal. Come here," she said to him playfully. "You too, Chyemme."

I blinked. "Me? What's wrong?" I asked, surprised.

"Well, I suppose I should tell her, shouldn't I?" Adria asked Piricus, that same pixie-like delight in her voice.

"Tell me what?" I asked, confused. What was going on? What was she, no even more so, what was he not telling me? "Piricus?" I asked, suddenly keenly interested.

Piricus was silent as he locked his eyes on me, a nasty look lingering there still. But I wasn't entirely sure that it wasn't because of Adria still.

"Now, now. Tell no lies and do no harm," Adria said with a wink. "I'm not one to cast magic on someone without their consent or their understanding," she said added with a grin.

"What's going on?" I repeated.

"You two are connected," Adria said simply, causing an audible hiss from him.

"Connected?" I asked, genuinely surprised. "How so?"

"You share a life energy. He stole some of your energy a long time ago and the energy dwells within him still. It connects the two of you. He is able to sense your presence and you can sense his as well, nothing more," Adria explained.

"That's how we were able to find the arcane sanctuary in the first place," Laurella said simply as she leaned on her good foot. "Piricus was leading us."

"Rogue," Piricus said icily, "I'll not have you acting like it was a charity case. Amazon, I did what I did because it was conductive to my own ends. I needed that journal, nothing more. That usefulness has ended. Now then, witch, honor your word," Piricus hissed venomously, "and break this tie."

"Chyemme," she said turning to me, "Do you understand now?"

I nodded. "Yes," I replied, truly stunned myself. How could I not have a felt a connection like that? How was it I could have been unaware of such a thing? Adria's words a few minutes ago echoed in my ears. I nodded again, more to myself than anyone.

"Take this tie off of me," Piricus hissed again. In my mind, his tone was not too far off from a child that was about to throw a tantrum because a parent wouldn't give them what they wanted. I got an amused look on my face as well. Funny, I thought, because he had to ask someone else to do something for him. He couldn't remove this connection himself and it was making him angry.

"Wipe that look off your face, amazon or I will do it for you," he growled noticing my smile.

"Manners," Adria reminded slyly.

Piricus snarled, and I thought he might actually hit her.

"As amusing as this sight is, my lady Adria, please release him. I have someone that's waiting on me," Ryelass said, his voice seeming to become distant at the end of his sentence.

Adria nodded. "Very well. Vinni, Vinni, Vichi," she teased light-heartedly and I felt an odd presence wash over me. Strange, when it was gone, I didn't feel any different. But, then again, I hadn't felt anything to begin with.

Piricus' emerald eyes flashed as he checked himself over. He said nothing, but stormed over to the wall of a building, apparently satisfied. He continued to glower at Adria spitefully for several minutes in silence.

"Right, then," Adria said, her tone changing dramatically. "Elder Drognan, if you please," she said seriously as the old, red-robed mage materialized beside her and handed her a scroll.

"Deckard Cain says he is on the way," Drognan said respectfully. "He's bringing Lord Jerhyn," the master mage added.

Drognan suddenly got a strange expression on his face. He turned immediately to Vendra. "Vendra, I see you have recovered your magic, and if it's possible, it's stronger than before. How did this come to be?" he asked sincerely, studying her hard.

"Story time hasn't made it to the agenda," Piricus said disagreeably. "You'd likely die before she finishes telling you," he added irritably.

"He's right in the fact that such a tale must wait for another time, my friend. It is fortuitous indeed that young Vendra was recovered her gifts, and that she and young Sovellis are no longer in danger. What we must focus on now is far less optimistic," came the sage voice of Elder Cain as Lord Jerhyn escorted him on his arm. The young emperor looked to me suddenly years older, his eyes had dark circles under them and his skin seemed to have lost all of its youthful luster. His jeweled turban sagged considerably into his weary brown eyes.

"Indeed," he added. "Hail, heroes. It is good to see that all of you have returned. My guards tell me that the activity in the palace has subsided and the demonic gate in the lower levels has been closed. For this you have my eternal gratitude."

"Gratitude is for fools," Piricus said flatly. "How about giving us something slightly more useful?" he added snidely.

Jerhyn nodded apologetically. "That I will. Adria has filled me in on the happenings around us. I know that you have found the true tomb of Tal Rasha and I know also what's waiting for you inside should you succeed in reaching it. As a token of my gratitude, and to give you what aid I can, I have ordered most of my remaining palace guard to accompany you and I have also—" he began.

"Agreed to pay a royal fortune-literally—to every one of my mercenaries that will accompany you," came the gruff voice of Greiz as he joined us in the alley. "Ahmad," Greiz said with a nod, "Good to see you're still alive."

"Thank you, sir," he said submissively and saluted.

"That is also a miracle," Piricus taunted, making Ahmad flinch. Griez either didn't notice or didn't care.

"How many of your mercenaries can we expect?" Maria asked; I could see the plans formulating in her mind.

"Ten," Griez said plainly.

"Only ten?" Alminus asked, a frown coming to his face.

"What cowards," Piricus said with snort.

"Well, it is true that what you are doing is suicide to most people," Greiz retorted.

"Is that why you aren't coming alongside your dogs?" Piricus asked casually, with his eye brows raised.

"I'd love to follow you around stomping through the sands and tombs fighting monsters twice my size and ten times my strength," the mercenary leader replied sarcastically, "but Lord Jerhyn has commanded that I stay here. There still aren't many royal guards and most of those left are going with you. Someone in command's got to stay here, and Lord Jerhyn's ordered that to be me," he said bluntly.

The young emperor sighed softly. "He speaks the truth. For the safety of my people and to maintain order I cannot send ALL of my warriors with you and Greiz is the leader of his mercenaries so he must stay to command the rest that are still protecting my city."

"Don't worry, my Lord. That is understandable and we will make do with whatever aid you can give," Scorpious said humbly.

"And we have some other allies," Laurella said with a nod.

"Do the mercenaries or guards know about them?" Cloudyous asked, bring up a valid point in my opinion. The last thing we needed was a fight between the saber-cats and the human soldiers. We had no time to be divided.

"What's she talking about?" Greiz asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Take that as a no, druid," Piricus said flatly.

"You're expecting more soldiers?" Lord Jerhyn asked curiously.

"Yes. They come from a tribe we met in the desert," Maria answered swiftly. "That's all the information we can give you right now," she added decisively.

"Odd. I wasn't aware of any human settlement anywhere nearby, even indigenous," Lord Jerhyn added. "Tell me, where are they? I will gladly outfit them with—" he began.

Piricus' emerald eyes pierced into Jerhyn's face irritably, as much of a threat as any demon in my mind. The young emperor locked eyes with him and immediately silenced his attempt for more information.

"Forgive me. Your friend just told me that this was all you are permitted to say. No matter who they are or where they come from they are welcome allies if you trust them," he apologized.

"We can rely on them," Scorpious said with a reaffirming nod.

"Is there anything else that we need to know?" Ryelass asked, speaking eagerly. I could hear the hurried tone in his voice. "The sooner we leave the better."

"There is," Elder Cain answered. "To enter the chamber of Tal Rasha, you will need a horadric staff. Long ago, when Baal was imprisoned, the staves were created as the only keys to the tomb and each was given to an esteemed mage of the order for protection," he began.

"Does Diablo have a Horadric staff?" Alminus asked with a grim look coming to his face.

"Not to our knowledge," Drognan replied.

"Then still have time," Sovellis answered, kindling some hope.

"He may not have a Horadric staff, but," the elder mage added before any relief could wash over us, "he will likely not need one. The Lord of Terror is more powerful than any mortal can imagine. He will have ways to go around a human lock."

"This is true," Adria said with a nod.

"Tell me something I don't know," Piricus growled.

"How many staves where there?" Cloudyous asked as Bibo shifted around restlessly on his shoulder.

"That doesn't matter," Vendra interjected. "We only need one."

"This is also true, and you have the components to make one," Adria affirmed.

"The staff you carry Sovellis is the shaft of the entire weapon. Maria, the viper amulet you have in your pouch is the head piece. We must use the Horadric Cube you obtained earlier in your travels and unite the pieces," Deckard Cain announced.

"Then let's do it," Ryelass urged as Sovellis and Maria removed the two pieces they were holding and Cloudyous removed the Horadric cube from a bag he'd tied to Gaia's side.

"Step forward, all three of you," Drognan instructed.

Elder Cain stepped forward also. "Over 75 years it's been since I've seen what you're about to see. As the last living Horadrim, I alone know the words to transmute the pieces into the whole. Open the cube, if you please, Lord Cloudyous," he requested politely.

Cloudyous carefully held the cube away from himself and opened the lid outward. A bright, white glow burst from within the box, but it died away quickly after being opened.

"Sovellis, if you please, put the shaft of the staff in the cube, then Maria place the headpiece after him," Cain instructed.

"How's that staff going to fit in the horadric cube?" Laurella asked curiously, mirroring my own thoughts. The cube was barely a foot deep and the staff alone was over four.

"One of its many wonders," Drognan replied simply as all of us watched Sovellis lower the end of the staff down into the cube, where it suddenly vanished before our eyes.

Maria followed after him and dropped in the triangular viper amulet into the cube as well. I didn't hear any metallic noise of the golden pendant hitting bottom, it seemed like it too had disappeared. This occurrence intrigued me slightly, I wondered what else we could put into the cube and if we did if we would be able to find it again. My curiosity was peaked, but that would have to wait for another time.

"Cloudyous, place the cube on the ground and all of you back away for a moment," Elder Cain advised.

Cloudyous didn't question him, and obediently placed the cube on the dusty stones forming the alleyway at the sage's feet. Then all of them backed away. I walked over to the wall to stand beside Piricus, I don't know why, but I had the feeling he wouldn't question me.

Like I thought, he seemed to be too preoccupied watching the ritual elder Cain was starting. I looked straight ahead as well; I knew Piricus would know if I was staring at him. Elder Cain knelt down and placed a wrinkled hand on the side of the cube facing him. He began speaking rhythmically in an arcane language that sent shivers down my spine. His words became increasingly more powerful as he ran his aged hands from each side of the cube, then traced the edges of the bottom. Immense, golden light started to encase the entire Horadric cube and with each word that he spoke the glow intensified. The places on the cube Deckard Cain touched began to shine vibrantly giving the intertwined, etched designs a surreal appearance as if they were going to actually jump of the cube into three dimensions.

The sage's chanting came to a high point as the light reached a new intensity. I almost jumped when Gaia the grizzly roared loudly and all three of Cloudyous' wolves began to bark excitedly. Bibo was squawking as well as if in some sort of wild symphony to Elder Cain's enchantment. With a final string of arcane language Deckard Cain touched the lid of the Horadric cube. A blinding flash lit the area, rendering me unable to see. Spots were dancing in my eyes when the light died away. All of Cloudyous' animal friends fell immediately silent and when my vision started to settle I watched in amazement as Elder Cain reached into the white-hot interior of the shining cube and pulled out a long object beaming with such an immaculate golden light that I thought for a moment the object must have come from the immortal heavens.

The light was amazing, and so was the overpowering magical energy the staff was giving off. I thought the shaft of the staff was incredible enough already, but the finished product dwarfed it by far. The heavenly glow the weapon was giving off diminished but did not fade completely. When I could see the object clearly the meager appearance of the newly reformed Horadric staff astounded me. I expected something that powerful and legendary to have been very ornate, however the weapon appeared to be made solidly out of a dull grey wood; there was not a trace of golden metal to be found on it anywhere. Even the once golden viper amulet had turned a tarnished shade of bronze. There was a smoky colored stone in the center of the bronze headpiece, but that was the only sort of decoration I could see on it anywhere and even then the stone looked more like a plain rock than a gem.

Deckard Cain held the staff up to the sunlight as the last of the glow faded from it. There was a sincere smile on his aged face. "And, there you have it. A Horadric staff," he said proudly as he presented it to us.

"Incredible," Ahmad said quietly as the reflection of the staff danced in his eyes.

"I wers expectin' it ter be made o' gold or sumthin," Alminus said frankly. I could tell that he was thinking along the same lines as I was.

"That would draw too much attention to it from fools that have no idea what they were messing with. Kind of like you, barbarian," Piricus answered briskly with his usual spite.

"Piricus is right," Maria added. "Having such a powerful weapon being made out of gold would make it a target for common thieves and pick pockets. It's already an enormous target for anyone with any remotely magical talent. That staff in the wrong hands," she said, pointedly looking at Vendra, "would be disastrous."

"Then the question becomes, who will wield it until we can use it to enter Tal Rasha's tomb?" Scorpious asked aloud.

"Only Vendra or Sovellis can use it properly," Cloudyous answered.

"Well we all know how the assassin feels about that," Piricus said with a slightly sarcastic laugh as he eyed her sour disposition.

"They're connected. What happens to one happens to the other," I reminded. "It shouldn't matter who carries it," I reasoned. While that was the reason I gave the others, I knew in my heart that it would be safe for either of them to carry the staff because I knew that they loved each other. Even if they hadn't spoken it to each other aloud yet, Vendra had admitted it to me and Horazon in her near death state. She loved him enough to die rather than corrupt him or risk his eternal soul. Knowing that she was connected to him would be all it took to keep her on the straight and narrow. And I had the strongest suspicion that it was the same way with him.

Vendra looked at me with an odd expression. I wasn't sure if she was thinking the same thing I was, but she looked grateful.

"Tha's one way of puttin' it, I guess," Alminus agreed.

"If I may," Ahmad began uncertainly.

"No," Piricus began bluntly.

"Don't let him speak to you that way Ahmad," I said with a small smile. "What is it?"

Ahmad cast a weary glance in Piricus' direction, but then answered me. "They've both had the chance to turn on us by now, but they haven't."

"Unlike some," Piricus said simply, still giving him the same icy glare.

Ahmad gulped in reply.

Greiz's harsh eyes watched this reaction carefully. To me, he must have been used to things like this somehow, because like Lord Jerhyn, he had remained motionless during the whole process of uniting the staff.

"Ahmad," Greiz began sternly.

"Sir?" he asked hesitantly.

"Your contract was only until this ragtag team returned from the desert dunes. That was all they paid for. You're back on my roster so don't take any shit from that little punk," he answered bluntly.

Piricus raised an eyebrow. I expected him to retaliate to the insult, but he actually laughed instead. "That's just as well. He's useless anyway."

Greiz started to retort, but Jerhyn stopped him. "Greiz, if you would please not trade banter with my honored guests. Heroes," he said, addressing us once more, "Atma has spoken to me on your behalf, as have many of the others around town. I've arranged for all of the merchants to provide their services and wares at a reduced rate. Go now and prepare for what lies ahead," he said apologetically.

Greiz growled, but heeded the young emperor's request. After all, at the end of the day, Jerhyn was still paying his salary. Greiz turned to escort Jerhyn out of the alleyway. "Ahmad," he began, "go back to headquarters and check in with Vill. He's got your next assignment."

I expected Ahmad to leave immediately to follow his commander's orders, but to my surprise he hesitated. He looked around at each of us, even Piricus, then back at Greiz. His hand moved to a place over the center of his chest briefly. Ahmad looked uncertain about something. I gazed into his brown eyes and for a second, my inner sight flared. I saw the face of an old man wearing a pointed red hat sitting in a house full of glass containers and vials.

Just as suddenly as the image came, it was gone and so was Ahmad. When I blinked, he had left without so much as a goodbye and was following Greiz out of the alleyway.

"Well, that should make life somewhat easier on Nira," Laurella said somewhat sarcastically as she watched him go.

"I have feeling that we see lot of type of behavior when soldiers realize we allied with saber cats," Sovellis said nonchalantly.

"That's most likely true," Scorpious said regrettably.

"Why not tell them right away paladin? Isn't omission one of your sins too?" Piricus said snidely.

"I did not omit anything. In fact, I didn't say anything at all to omit," he countered simply. "Lady Adria," he began, "how much time do we have?"

"Be as swift as you can. I fear Diablo's already on his way," she said simply. "I'll not hold you any longer," she continued and without warning she vanished before our eyes.

Her ethereal voice however lingered in my mind. _Things are about to unfold. Those that you do not believe important may yet be the keys to everything. Keep your eyes open, Chyemme._

I blinked. An ominous warning, to which I had no idea what she was talking about. But my guess was like before it wouldn't be long before I figured it out.

"Gather what you need and be back here in an hour. I should be ready for the spell then," Vendra said, breaking the awkward silence that had lingered in Adria's absence for a few moments.

"We never did decide who would take the staff," Laurella added, eyeing the now dormant object in Elder Cain's hands.

"I think Sovellis should hold on to it," Vendra said suddenly. "As you said before, I have a horrible habit of messing up Horadric artifacts," she said sarcastically to Maria, although I could tell there was also a slight comical element to her remark as well.

"So be it," Maria growled and in a blink, she was gone too.

"Whoa, that wers fast," Alminus said with a blink himself at Maria's quick departure.

"You saw what she did to that summoner," Ryelass remarked. "I've never seen anything like it. She was a blur. It was like she was teleporting, only I couldn't sense any magic."

"If you could sense it, she'd be dead already," Piricus said coldly before he walked away.

"Lord Sovellis, the Horadric staff," Deckard Cain said with a nod as he held out the weapon to him. Sovellis looked it over with hesitation. He turned to Vendra questioningly.

She simply nodded. "Trust me. It will be fine. All great mages do their time with one of those," she said sarcastically. "Besides," she added upon seeing his troubled expression, "Would I let anything happen to you?" she finished softly.

She and Sovellis locked eyes for a moment, before an amused grin came to his dark face. Vendra snorted as she smiled too. "Never mind. Don't answer that," she said teasingly. "How about, I will do better on that account from now on?" she offered.

Sovellis' grin broadened into a smile. "Okay. You have deal," he said lightly and received the Horadric staff in his hands. I expected something to happen like it had when he first held the Horadric cube, but the staff didn't even glimmer.

"That's a good sign," I laughed.

"Indeed," Sovellis agreed.

"You didn't cause an explosion yet," Vendra said playfully.

"Yet?" Ryelass snorted in amusement. "It's a good thing Maria left already before she heard that remark."

"Now that we have the key to the tomb, I'm going to consult with Lady Fara. Laurella, I would advise you to come with me and see if Fara can heal your foot," Scorpious said simply.

Laurella nodded. "Yeah, I definitely don't want to be fighting on this anymore if I can help it," she agreed and hobbled over to his side.

Scorpious draped one of her pale arms over his shoulders and he started to support her down the alley. "Make haste with your preparations," he reminded all of us that remained gently.

"Lord Cain," Ryelass began.

"Yes?" the old sage asked respectfully.

"Will you accompany me to my mother's house? I'm going to visit for a minute, and when I leave this time I think it would be a good idea for her to have someone she knows staying with her," he continued.

Elder Cain nodded. "A wise idea," he answered.

"Chyemme," Ryelass said turning to me, "If you want to come too that would be appreciated, I've got your shield and your weapons that I found in the alleyway when you and Vendra disappeared."

I nodded, truly grateful that my ceremonial shield and weaponry had been found. Truth be told, when I awoke in Horazon's Sanctuary I had no idea what had become of them and was a little upset with the prospect of having to outfit myself with entirely new equipment. Mainly my shield was the thing I valued most; it came from my homelands and was a gift from my mother, whom I had not heard from the entire time I had been here in Lut Gholeign. Perhaps it was because that she no longer had someone she trusted to send the letters to, or perhaps she had no news to bring. When I thought about it, I realized that since setting foot into this troubled city I hadn't written her either. If I had a moment I would compose one when we returned to Ryelass' house. Perhaps I could ask Elder Drognan, Vendra, or Sovellis to send it for me.

"I'll go with ya ter. Migh' make Yvie feel better if she knows ya ain't goin' alone," Alminus offered.

"It would be appreciated. Thank you for keeping them safe for me," I answered and joined Ryelass, Alminus, and Elder Cain as we started toward his house.

The streets of Lut Gholeign were packed with many, many people as always. I looked around myself as we walked. So much life here. So much energy. And so much ignorance. I didn't think that these people had any idea of the catastrophe that could happen at any time. They were clueless that the Lord of Terror was free once more and that any second now, he could loose Destruction on us as well.

Part of me envied that ignorance. I shivered as I remembered the Catherdral of Khanduras. My inner sight had given me a glimpse of Diablo himself. I had never been so afraid in all my life. As I walked, a heavy realization set upon me. If we succeeded and we did reach Tal Rasha's tomb, that image was going to become a reality. The monster that I feared would be real. He would be there himself. Diablo. The Lord of Terror. One of the three. . .and if we had failed. . . I didn't want to think about it.

Was I brave enough to walk into the tomb of the Horadric mage Tal Rasha? Was I brave enough to stand in the face of the prime evils and gaze into the face of terror itself? Had anything about me changed since I set foot in Khanduras? I reflected over the many recent events and found only one thing to have changed. And that was my feelings for Piricus. But, what difference would that make when facing the demon Lord of Terror? Perhaps none, I thought to myself. No matter who I loved or what I treasured, the fact was I was still going to be afraid.

"Such a sour look doesn't suit you," Ryelass remarked casually as we walked. "What's wrong?" he asked sincerely.

I chuckled lightly. "The question would be what's going right? So many things are out of place," I answered truthfully.

Ryelass laughed too. "Spoken with wisdom, wouldn't you agree, Elder?" he asked the sage making his way alongside us.

Cain grinned gently. "A sad, but true state of affairs."

"Seriously though, what's wrong? You almost haven't said a word about anything since we rescued you," Ryelass continued.

"I think the magnitude of what's about to happen is shaking me up a bit," I replied in earnest. For some reason, I felt completely at ease telling Ryelass about that fact. Maybe it was because he was with me in Khanduras when I had my vision.

"Can't say I blame ya," Alminus replied with a shiver of his own. "Ya'd be crazy if ya weren' even slightly scared."

"This is much is also true," Deckard Cain replied. "But know this, Diablo is very powerful, but he is not invincible. He can be defeated. He was before and by those who were much like you."

"That was not a defeat," Ryelass growled, suddenly becoming bitter. "I don't call what happened to Marcus or Celeste a victory on the slightest. I don't call losing my brother to that _thing_ any sort of win and Laurella sure as hell doesn't believe what happened to her sister was any better."

"Sometimes, love demands the greatest sacrifice of all, young Ryelass," Cain said somberly, but thereafter fell silent.

"_Love_," Ryelass muttered irritably. "Yeah he loved us so much that. . ."

"I have no love for that thing either, believe me," I said gently, trying to lighten my friend's mood.

"Yeah, and there ain't goin' ter be any love lost for any of us when we strike 'im down," Alminus agreed as he put a hand on Ryelass' shoulder.

I put one of mine on his other. "You are not alone in this. Regardless of fear, we will fight together and see this through to the end," I said stoutly.

A strange feeling washed over me when the words escaped my mouth. _You are not alone_. It was true. Ryelass was not alone, and by that same right, neither was I. A small bit of courage came back to me with this. At least, if this was to be the end I would not die alone. Alone . . . Piricus was alone in a sense, yet not. He'd been connected to me all along.

Ryelass' bitter expression softened considerably as he looked to me, then to Alminus. He grasped Alminus' arm in gratitude and then turned to me. "Thank you," he said sincerely and gave my hand a gentle squeeze.

We reached the door to Ryelass' house and he didn't bother to knock, he just opened the door and went inside. Yvette came bustling into the atrium in a full motherly fuss.

"Young man, where have you been? It's been almost a week since you all left! I was starting to get really worried!" she huffed as she seized him in an embrace.

"We were out in the desert mom, we couldn't send a message. But, everyone's fine. I came back because I needed to tell you that we're leaving on another trip, I don't know when we'll be back, and Chyemme needs her weapons back," he insisted calmly as he returned his mother's embrace.

Yvette blinked when she noticed that she had more than one guest. "Oh! Goodness! Well, don't let me hold you up then! I'm sorry Chyemme dear, I didn't see you. Elder Cain brought your weapons back here yesterday. Almy, would you go get them for her? They're upstairs in the closet?" Yvette requested politely.

"Sure thing Yvie," Alminus said politely and disappeared up the staircase.

Before I knew it, I had been seized in a motherly hug as well. "Chyemme dear, I'm glad you're alright! I was so worried when I heard what happened!"

"Elder Cain told you?" I asked, surprised. I was sincerely amazed, given the fact that with how much Yvette worried that he'd actually tell her something that grave.

"Oh don't be silly. You know better than that, don't you, Elder?" Yvette asked him playfully.

Deckard Cain smiled and nodded. "They don't call me a sage for nothing."

"Then how did you know?" I asked as she released me.

"I heard a rumor from one of the palace guards that was drinking in the tavern yesterday. I was already so worried and I figured she could use some friendly company. I went to see Atma," she replied.

"How's she doing?" I asked, with a small pain in my heart for the recently widowed woman.

"She looks good on the outside, she puts on a brave face for the tavern's customers, but on the inside she's got a wound that will never heal. I can sympathize. Carlos died about twenty years ago, but there's still a gap there. And well, I just recently found out about Marcus . . ." she said trailing off. "All in all, I suppose I would be just like her, but I still have Ryelass. And I am extremely grateful for that." She explained.

"Alminus is practically your son too," Ryelass said gently after his mother finished.

Yvette smiled. "That is very true. Larzuk and Almy have been an extreme blessing in our lives," she said fondly. "So where are you headed to now?" she asked. "Is it dangerous?"

Ryelass looked his mother directly in her eyes. "It is," he said truthfully. "But, it must be done. Mom I know what took Marcus from us, and this is about vengeance," he said with a deadly sincerity and a steely resolve in his words.

Her smile faded. "So, you're going to avenge your brother?" she asked with tears welling.

"Yes," he said powerfully.

"That's why you came home in the first place isn't it? That's what all these battles have been about. Everything was leading up to this. You didn't come home to tell me, you came home to chase his killer," she deducted as tears started leaking from her eyes.

"I came home," Ryelass said as his took his mother in his arms, "To tell you that I love you and that the monster that took Marcus won't take me. I'm going to destroy him, mom. I'll destroy him, and then I'll come home to stay. I promise," he vowed powerfully.

Seeing Ryelass and the bond he shared with his mother brought a sincere pain to my own heart and for the first time since I left the Amazon Isles, a bout of homesickness. I had to write my mother before I left here.

"Elder Cain," I said quietly, "Do you have some parchment and a quill?"

He nodded. "I do," he said, walking over to a small box in the corner of the room he had left in his last visit to Ryelass' house. He removed a small square of yellowed paper and handed me a short, ink-laden quill.

I hastily set to work writing my letter. I skipped the more menial battles and people, and told her everything about Diablo and Baal that I knew. I left nothing out; my mother was not like Yvette in the sense that she could not handle such truths. My mother had seen her share of battle and hardships. When I finished the informative section, I felt myself falter. Now comes that hardest part. My quill hovered over the surface of the parchment as I thought of words to say. How do you tell someone that you love them? How do you tell them that you've just realized what they meant to you, even if they've been around for a long time? Sure, I'd told my mother I loved her when I was little, but recently, especially before I left, it seems all we had been doing is arguing. I had to strain hard to recall the last time we'd spent an evening together not on religious or ceremonial grounds. Furthermore, how do you tell someone you love that you may never see them again? How do you tell them that there is a chance that you're going to die?

For some odd reason, I thought of Scorpious. I could picture him saying "Just tell the truth." That, and Ryelass had just given me a shining example. Tell the truth, and just state it simply. I signed my letter, Love Chyemme. It was a simple ending. Simple, but to the point. I knew my mother loved me, even if it had not been spoken for many years, she had given me her love in her letters and in her support. She accepted my love. This brought me to another thing I wanted to do before I faced Diablo. There was something else I needed to do. Someone else I needed to tell. But I didn't think he would acccept me. That was the problem. Piricus had never been a people-oriented person. Zerae, he preferred talking to the dead over the living . . . but somewhere inside I knew I had to tell him, no matter what his reaction would be. I could die in this upcoming battle, and so could he. Any one of us could.

When I finished I turned to Elder Cain. "Elder, will you please take care of this letter for me? Perhaps take it to Drognan?" I asked sincerely.

"A letter to home?" he asked gently, looking it over with his aged grey eyes.

"Yes," I said simply and he nodded. "I'll make sure it gets there, rest assured," he promised.

"Thank you," I said in gratitude as Alminus walked over and handed me my weapons. I slung my sword back onto my belt and put my shield on my back over a bundle of javelins. My spear I held in my hands, and as I held it, a new strength washed over me. I am an Amazon. I had to have faith in that. I would not be bested by a demon.

"Mom," Ryelass said gingerly, pulling away from his weeping mother, "We have to go now, but we'll be back as soon as we can."

"Ya count on it, Yvie. Alla us," Alminus promised as she embraced him as well.

"Come, dear Yvette, let us see to happier matters. An old friend of mine taught me the most delightful reciepe for cinnamon apple fritters," Elder Cain said as he walked over leaning on his cane. He led her into the kitchen before calling back to us, "Victory on swift wings, heroes," as we left.

We made our way past the town square on our way back to the alleyway we were meeting in, I saw Scorpious in his shining armor talking to Fara; Laurella was standing next to him without any difficulty. It looked like Fara had been able to heal her injured foot.

Various merchants called out to me, much like last time I had been in town square. I had no interest in frivolous things like jewelry or furs. I was about to bypass the square completely, when my inner sight alerted me to a familiar presence. I followed the inkling to a striped black and tan tent. There was a tall man that looked about Deckard Cain's age in deep red robes and a tall red hat. It was the man I had seen through Ahmad's mind earlier. But his was not the presence I felt. There was a man standing in front of him, dressed inconspicuously in sand-colored clothing. He wore long pants and brown boots, and a simple short-sleeved tunic. His hair was dark brown and cut in an unremarkable short style, common for this region. But he had another type of cut that wasn't normal. There was a long slice in his upper arm that curved near the end. The wound was made by a javelin. One I had thrown. It was the man that had been dressed in black hiding in Piricus' room.

Curiosity got the better of me, and an odd sense of protectiveness over Piricus was mixed with it. I decided to go pay him a visit.

"Ryelass, Alminus, you guys go ahead. I've seen something I want, I'll catch up," I informed and without waiting for their response I pushed my way through the market crowd, making my way through that direction. I vaguely recognized Ryelass' confused voice over the extreme hustle and bustle of the marketplace, but it soon blended into the mass of noise. I tried to act as casually as I could, this man was already shifty enough, he might notice me if I moved too pointedly or quickly. What's more, I had no idea if this man was some sort of assassin, though he'd be a fool to attempt something like that in such a public place.

I had just entered into earshot when the man in the red hat said something and he and the mysterious stranger stepped inside the tent out of view. I cursed under my breath.

I walked over to a merchant's table beside the striped tent, feigning interest in a Maplewood tobacco pipe. My eyes scrutinized the etched patterns in the red wood, but my ears strained to listen for voices around the tent next to me. To my dismay, I could hear none. I put the pipe down and walked closer until I was standing at the very edge of the tent. The fabric must have been enchanted; I could only hear muffled noises, even though the fabric was very thin.

I saw a reed flute lying on a box next to my foot. I picked it up and stepped around the corner of the tent next to a sandstone wall, out of sight. I carefully slipped one end of the cylindrical flute into the corner of the striped tent, making sure I was level with the framework, and placed the other end up to my ear.

The voices were hushed, but being so intent, I was soon able to pick them out.

"No, no. Can't do that. Embargo laws . . ." said a voice that sounded more elderly than the one that responded after it.

"You've an interesting view of things. I can pay you imperial gold. That language usually removes any embargo," answered a plain voice that sounded much younger.

"Yeah usually you've got a point, but what you're asking for . . . too risky. Don't see why you even want the stuff. It's extremely volatile and just as bad when it freezes. It was banned for a reason," the elder voice insisted.

"You're acting like you've never sold it before. I know you have it for a fact, and that you've sold it to several people much more unscrupulous than I," the second man insisted.

"Don't know what you're talking about," the elderly voice answered.

"Sure you do. I've a list compiled in my pocket. The list itself would be worth a fortunate to the royal guard or the mercenaries. They'd clean you out, lock you up, and your clients would be exposed. And pissing them off is worse than death," the second man threatened.

"Yeah, yeah. Sonny, if I gave in to every threat I'd be on the street right now," the elderly voice said nonchalantly with a laugh.

"I'm not laughing and you won't be either if you refuse to trade with me, considering that everyone on this list is a member of the Viz-Jaq'Taar," the second man said icily.

I blinked in surprise. If I recalled correctly, the Viz-Jaq'Taar was the mage language for the assassins. Maria's order. Maybe the thought that this man was an assassin himself wasn't that far from the mark. I listened further, more intent that ever.

"You wouldn't dare," the elderly voice said with a slight quiver, and I could hear that this threat and had been valid after all.

"Try me," the second voice said plainly.

"Why do you want this stuff so bad?" the elderly man insisted.

"You are an alchemist. You tell me," the second voice said evenly, not giving anything away in the slightest.

"You could take out an army with that stuff if you're not careful," the elderly voice tried one last time.

"You're trying my patience. You'll either do business with me and give me what I'm requesting or you will take it up with the guard and all the members of the Viz-Jaq'Taar," the second voice said, still completely calm.

"You drive a hard bargain," the elderly voice said in defeat. "This will cost you. This stuff isn't easy to obtain or store for that matter."

"Money is not an issue," the voice responded.

"Very well. Watch your ass in this wretched desert heat. Volatile. . . .very volatile," the elderly voice warned and I heard someone move something heavy and a few objects being shuffled around.

"Your compensation," the voice said plainly, "The Prince will be pleased," he added and I heard him move towards the exit.

Prince? What Prince was he talking about? I knew of no other ruler of Lut Gholeign, but it is highly possible that this man could be from some foreign country. I stayed perfectly still for moments after I heard the man exit the tent, if I moved too soon, I could give myself away. I had to warn Piricus, it was highly probable that the man in his room was an assassin after all.

I turned around and had enough time to block as a dagger came crashing down towards my face. The only available thing I had to block with was the reed flute, and being made of brittle wood, the dagger sliced cleanly through it, though it did go off course. I kicked out with my armored foot and caught my attacker in the chest, though it did no good. My foot crunched on something hard. I heard a cracking sound that was like a breaking bone. Bone. . . I looked up to identify my attacker, it was the man from Piricus' room.

He refolded and lashed out again with his dagger, and that's when I noticed a thin line of ice blue liquid on the tip. When he moved, it was giving off a subtle vapor and I had every knowledge that whatever that substance was, it was the thing he had just purchased and every bit lethal. I turned my shoulder into him, putting my shield on my back between us. I heard the scratch of metal on metal, and then a hissing sound. I could smell the melting metal as whatever that substance on the dagger was ate a hole through my solid shield. I stomped down hard on his toes, this did make him stumble some, and I instinctively drew my crystal sword and swung back. He jumped back, avoiding injury, though the blade sliced cleanly through his shirt. I nearly stumbled myself from the shock.

The rip exposed his under armor. I had been right. It had been made of bone. This stranger had on a breastplate of pure bone, not unlike what Piricus usually conjures over his own armor. Was it possible that this man could be another necromancer?

He swiped at me again, though in my brief confusion he had gained a clear shot at my side. I rolled backwards along the wall, almost falling into the tent beside us. The dagger bit sandstone and dissolved a decent hole instantly. I raised my sword to take off his hand while he refolded, but he kicked my left leg and found the wound one of Horazon's slug demons had made earlier. I bent over in reflex and he raised his dagger to strike the top of my skull. But leaning over, with the breakage in his bone armor I had put there a moment ago gave me a clear shot at his heart.

We swung at the same time, both of us intent on taking the other's life. I cried out in surprise when something firm seized my sword arm at the wrist. I feared it was the stranger and that he had somehow managed to block me, but when I looked up; a pale hand was holding his wrist as well. What startled me more was the voice from beside me.

"Why am I not surprised? Amazon, you manage to find your way into the path of all the wrong people. Leave the snooping to the assassin because you're beyond pathetic at it, not that she's much better, and Darius, this is twice now you've let a woman kick your ass. That's also really pathetic," Piricus said in his sly drawl. He shoved us both backwards hard as he released us, somehow effectively disarming both of us. My sword and his dagger fell to the bricks at his feet.

"Piricus, you know him?" I asked, stunned.

He looked at me snidely. "That's fairly obvious isn't it?"

"But he—" I started, pointing to the dagger.

"Is one of us," Piricus said bluntly.

"Piricus," said the man Piricus had just identified as the necromancer, Darius, "she heard everything I said in there."

Piricus raised an eyebrow. "Well, that doesn't surprise me either. Like I said, she has a remarkable talent for stumbling into the path of people that want her dead."

"What-?" Darius began to ask uncertainly as he eyed me uneasily. I could clearly tell that he was as stunned as I was that Piricus had just stopped us both from killing each other.

"I remember you now," Darius said, looking at me and touching his arm. "I didn't recognize you, otherwise I—" Darius began. ""What should we do?" he asked Piricus hesitantly.

"We'll leave that decision up to the Prince," Piricus said simply and cryptically. "He can decide what to do with her."

Darius nodded. "You're right."

Piricus sighed. "Get out of here now. Someone's likely to have heard this little scuffle," he said sarcastically.

"I won't say anything to the guards," I assured.

Piricus snorted indignantly. "I don't give a rat's ass about those bumbling fools. It's the damn assassins that are the most annoying," he said bluntly. "Speaking of which," Piricus growled, "Darius take that with you," he said pointing at the blue-coated dagger.

I saw Piricus' emerald eyes flicker to the right for the briefest of seconds. I used the opportunity to retrieve my sword and sheath it before Piricus harshly grabbed my wrist just above the armor. "Come on Amazon, let's go shopping," he growled and without another word he yanked me harshly towards the entrance to the striped tent while Darius hurriedly collected himself and disappeared back into the crowd.

Piricus yanked the tent flap open and pulled me inside. There was the man in the red hat. "Good afternoon. What can I do for you? I'm Lysander, the resident alchemist," he introduced.

I stared awkwardly between him and Piricus for a moment, before yanking my wrist out of his iron-grasp which was beginning to become painful.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Chyemme," I said, extending a hand.

Lysander looked me over carefully as if I were dangerous, and then his eyes flickered from my hand to my shield. "That was quite a scuffle outside," Lysander remarked casually.

"What was that stuff?" I asked as I took my shield off my back and examined it. The top, right edge had been completely eaten away, leather, steel, and wood altogether. It looked like a dragon took a bite out of it. The damage had gone from the edge several inches down into the actual shield itself with just a nanosecond of contact.

"It's called Adder's Vice," Lysander answered simply. "It's the deadliest poison in existence. There is no antidote. Not even necromancers," he added looking at Piricus, "have been able to devise one yet and they are the most skilled with such things."

"Well," I said grimly as I eyed my damaged shield, "I guess that makes sense with what you said to . . ."

"Didn't use it all in that fight, did he?" Lysander asked curiously.

"Hardly," Piricus answered for me harshly. "Which is why we are here. She needs you to mend that shield before she goes anywhere else," Piricus demanded.

Lysander looked at him skeptically. "Young man, I am an alchemist, not a blacksmith. You might go see Fara," he insisted.

"One, I would never ask a paladin to fix anything for me, they're incompetent, and two, you know as well as I do that metal has to be treated with a certain batch of chemicals or it will continue to erode and, as it were, I'm traveling with a group of people that will know what damage that is and where it came from. I'd do it myself but I don't have the time," Piricus said coldly.

"Let me guess," Lysander said oddly. "One of the Viz-Jaq'Taar?"

Piricus scowled in the mention of Maria and I nodded. "Yes."

Lysander flinched. "You necromancers are going to be the death of me. Give it here young lady," Lysander said simply and I handed him my shield without question. It will take a few minutes," he said simply and walked around some curtain into the very rear of the tent.

I turned to Piricus. "What's going on? What's this about?" I demanded curiously.

He turned to me with an icy glare. "Don't let it go to your head. The only damn reason I spared your life just now was because the assassins would have been all over that place in a heartbeat if you'd been killed. And having Darius killed would be extremely counterproductive," he growled. "You're in here because you can't go out in front of the assassin with your shield like that," Piricus snapped. "She'd once again, kill Darius and that's counterproductive."

I blinked. "Are you worried about him? Is he your friend?" I asked in surprise.

"Is he my friend? No. Amazon you know me I don't have friends because they are a pain. The only reason I'm remotely concerned about him is because he's one of my brethren and if I let him get killed the higher-ups will kick my ass. It'll come back on my head," he snarled.

"So, after all that, it's still about you?" I asked casually.

"Always will be. Some things never change," he said bluntly.

"What about me? What's going to happen when you tell your prince? Do you mean Prince Dark—" I began.

Piricus gave me a demonic look and hissed. It didn't take me long to realize the there must be an assassin somewhere outside.

"The Prince doesn't even have to hear about it," Piricus said coldly after a minute of silence. "I'd get my ass kicked if the higher-ups found out about this," he snarled. "And I'm not stupid."

"The only reason this happened is because I was concerned about you," I said suddenly before I realized what I had said.

His expression didn't change in the slightest when he replied. "Concern for others makes you weak. End of story, end of line."

"I was worried that he was an assassin and was trying to kill you," I added.

Piricus snorted. "And why should you even give a damn about that? You're not me. And I can take care of myself. You act as if I would do the same for you, when I've clearly told you otherwise. What can I do to demonstrate that fact? Nothing sinks in with you. Ever . . ." he growled.

Why should I give a damn? Why should I care? His words were very much like what I expected them to be so far. My mind brought me back to the arcane sanctuary, where I realized just how much I did care. It was time to tell him, for better or for worse. I turned to look him directly in his emerald eyes.

"Piricus, I'm glad you're here because I wanted to tell you something," I began.

He glowered at me, and turned to face me with his arms crossed. He didn't say anything. I took a deep breath. "I wanted to tell you that I—" I started but suddenly I froze. I could feel my tongue knotting for some reason and butterflies flitting in my stomach. I was suddenly very nervous to tell him. What if he rejected me? This was ten times harder than I thought it was going to be. My mother would accept me; it was highly possible that he would not. And for some reason, that thought hurt terribly. It didn't make it any easier with the nasty look on his face and the way his icy eyes were piercing into me.

"I," I started again, and he raised an eyebrow and tapped his foot impatiently. "Piricus—" I tried one more time.

"Chyemme? Piricus?" I was suddenly startled out of my confession by the sudden appearance of the mercenary, Ahmad from behind us. I nearly jumped and Piricus growled.

"Oh. Ahmad. What brings you here?" I asked, suddenly grateful for his intervention.

"I'm here to see Lysander, is he in?" he asked casually.

"Yes. He's working on something for me, he said he'll be back in a minute," I answered.

"Tell him to hurry the hell up, I'm leaving," Piricus said with a scowl. "I might actually kill you if I have to stay in here with you and your incompetence," he said nastily to Ahmad and walked out of the tent.

Lysander returned a few minutes later with my shield, which was surprisingly whole again. "Thanks," I said as he nodded to me.

Lysander turned toward Ahmad. "Ah. Have you brought what I asked for?" he asked, taking on a more professional business tone.

Ahmad removed a large, heavy pouch from his belt. "I have. It's all there," he said and suddenly dumped a considerable amount of golden coins onto a table in front of Lysander. Lysander eyed the gold eagerly and carefully scanned over several of the pieces, picking a few up and inspecting them. He appeared satisfied at first, but then he bit into a piece and it chipped his tooth. He growled audibly.

"Did you think you could fit this past me? I'm an Alchemist for Tyreal's sake! You can't transmute copper into gold for more than forty minutes or so. How much actual gold do you have here? Any?" Lysander spat irritably.

"Fifty," Ahmad answered quietly. "Please this is very important!" he said and he instinctively drew his hand up to that same spot on his chest.

Lysander waved his hands in the air dismissively. "That's what everyone says. But business is business, especially with what you're asking for. And a deal is a deal. I'll do what you want when you pay me what I asked for. I said 50,000 and not a half-piece less!"

I almost choked. That was a monumental amount of gold. Even I had not received that much from the countess' fortune. Just what could a mercenary need that badly from an alchemist?

"Please! I'm begging you," Ahmad said desperately.

"No! Payment first," Lysander said frankly and then walked away.

Ahmad looked at the heap of coins on the table in despair as they shimmered from gold to copper, all but a few pieces, which my guess was what Maria had paid him to be our guide. I looked at him in silence for a few minutes.

"What's it for?" I asked, trying not to be noisy. Last time that happened I had almost gotten a dose of Adder's Vice in my gut. "You're not sick are you? Because I'm sure Scorpious or Fara would be glad to help you free of charge," I said softly.

"No. I'm not sick. And I don't want to speak about it," Ahmad said quietly.

I turned to leave after replacing my shield on my back. A thought occurred to me. "Why don't you come with us Ahmad? We could use your help and Greiz said it himself they are paying handsomely for this mission. Who knows, maybe it would be enough," I offered.

Ahmad sighed as he scooped up his money into his pouch. "I have given it serious thought. And at this point, I have no other option," he said gravely. "Very well. I shall accompany you," he said with a resigned sigh.

He and I hastily made our way to the appointed alley. Everyone else was already waiting on us, including twenty-five or so people I didn't know all outfitted in various different armors. Some were very obviously mercenaries, others had the royal crest on their cloaks, marking them as palace guards.

"What kept you?" Vendra asked as she and Sovellis stepped out from the crowd. "What's he doing with you?" she added.

"Ahmad is going with us as well," I replied.

"We're all here then?" Scorpious asked, looking around.

"Yes," Vendra affirmed.

"Then let's go with all haste," Ryelass demanded.

Vendra said a few words and a portal appeared in front of us, leading into a desert space beyond.

"Form ranks, one at a time," Scorpious ordered and I watched as one by one we filed through Vendra's portal. Piricus and I were the only ones left.

Piricus stepped up beside me. "You should go first, otherwise you might not make it," he said sarcastically.

I sighed comically. "You know what, with everything else that's happened you're probably right about that." I put one foot through the portal then turned back to look at Piricus. Should I try again?

"What are you staring at amazon? Get moving," he snapped.

My heart skipped a beat and I opened my mouth. "Piricus," I started once more.

"What?" he snapped irritably.

Cold terror suddenly overcame me and I decided that this was one thing I did not have the courage for yet. "Never mind," I apologized and hastily followed after the others.


	18. Chapter 18

AN: Hey everybody, I hope you all had a good thanksgiving holiday. Thanks a million times over for everyone reading and reviewing.

Disclaimer: I do not own Diablo 2, Blizzard entertainment does. I'm just goofing off in their world for fun.

Seeking the Tomb of Tal Rasha

Piricus

The desert clouds seemed to be the only thing moving when I stepped into the Canyon of the Magi through the sorceress' portal. There was no wind here whatsoever, including the ever-nagging blistering desert breeze. There were no ripples in the sand, as evident by the lack of wind. There were no tracks ahead of us or signs of life of any kind save those our hastily-assembled team had just made.

I looked around myself at this pathetic band of halfwit mercs and guards we had been "granted". What fools would do for money. It amazed me. I sized each of them up as I looked around and came to the grand estimate that they'd be doing well if they retained even 5 of the original twenty-seven we now found ourselves with. I scanned over their equipment and armor. All in all, they looked evenly matched between the mercs and guards, although you could clearly pinpoint who among the mercenaries were the most successful. Three out of the eleven mercenaries were sporting superior weapons, two wielded long spears that were studded with actual steel rivets at the point of connection and the shafts of the weapons had been reinforced with actual iron over the original wood. The other was carrying a large, iron axe not that unlike the barbarian's. His weapon looked as if it had been braced with four more metallic layers, two along each wing of the axe blade and the point of connection had been wrapped in what appeared to be elephant hide and double-secured with well cured leather.

Their base armor was chainmail and made entirely of blued steel, a very pricey commodity even in the flourishing trade market here. Various parts over their under-armor were braced with the same blued metal, only in plates, especially their pauldrons and their gauntlets. In short, their armor looked to be higher quality than even the paladin's. All three had quite a few scars on display that suggested they had been in the fighting trade for a longer time than average. They might be the only competent ones in the bunch. But, I say might. I know better than anyone that looks are deceiving. Just because you have fancy tools for your trade doesn't mean anything for your competency. It just means you, or someone you know that likes you has money. Just ask anyone, especially that idiot mercenary that had been traveling with us earlier. You could give that moron the best weapon on Sancutary and he'd still be useless. Why in the name of Trag 'Oul had he decided to come back? I made sure to give him a pointed scowl as he locked his eyes on me. I guess he could feel me looking at him. I wanted to make the point perfectly clear that here, in the middle of nowhere, and especially going up against the Lord of Terror, I was not putting up with any idiocy.

Speaking of which, that was the other thing that seemingly separated the mercenaries and the guards. The level of fear in them. There was not a doubt in my mind that all of them knew what we were up against and it showed. However, those that were marked under the Emperor's crest seemed to be far more edgy than their mercenary counterparts. All eyes were scanning the sands, but theirs darted quickly in different directions like frightened deer in the presence of a tiger. The mercenaries, for the most part, or at least the three that had caught my eye earlier, seemed far more steady and methodical in their approach to scanning the surroundings. My guess was that the emperor's prissy little tin-clad chickens had never seen an actual battle before. Most of them looked fairly young, so my guess was they joined the emperor's service in a time of peace to earn a quick piece of silver. They had never seen a war in their existence. Some were actually shaking in their armor as they eyed the eerie landscape around us.

I chucked sarcastically under my breath. They were frightened by legends. The real horror hadn't even started yet. I continued looking around, my gaze briefly flickered over the rest of this odd band of fools I had come to be stranded with and at last my gaze settled on the amazon. The witch had been true to her word and removed the tie between us. I could no longer feel her presence, and I was glad. It would no longer be a distraction or a weakness. Speaking of the amazon, she had been acting oddly since rejoining the group after the incident with the fake Horazon. She had been trying to tell me something like what, five times now? My mind vaguely wondered over what it could be that she was trying to say, but I quickly dismissed it. I've told her hundreds of times that gratitude, if that's what she perceived my earlier act in the square to be, is a lie, and she knew better than to ask me for help. Whatever she was going to say couldn't be important, and even if it was, did I really care enough to listen? What could she possibly have to say that could have any meaning for me?

What I said to her in the marketplace when I stopped her and Darius from killing each other was true. I saved her because the assassins would have been on Darius and me quicker than we could blink, and that would have been a problem. Between the two of us, we probably could have fended off any assassin lackeys they sent, but the problem would have been the exposure. They'd have seen us and known who we were. I killed seven of their best, and while it is an accomplishment for anyone, I will admit that it was done strategically, not as an outburst of insane physical and martial prowess all at once. I did not, as much as I despised the realization, have the strength to fend off ALL of their order at one time, and especially, neither did Darius whom was far weaker than I. And since we were in the region of their headquarters, the numbers they retaliated with would be brutal. No, having our identities blown right now would yield dire consequences.

And yet, now I had the issue of the amazon's noisiness to deal with. She knew who Darius was and what he was. She had presumably heard everything that transpired when he bought the Adder's Vice. I had half a mind to let the amazon kick his ass for his carelessness, but seeing as he was currently pretending to be me that would also be counterproductive. I told her that the Prince would deal with the issue if I told him. And so I would. But, in all reality, what was I going to do? Somewhere I wondered if I should do anything at all. The amazon did not know my true identity, and that was obvious. The only thing she had intruded on was Darius attempting to procure an item on the list Lord Rathma had given me on my unfortunate trading voyage. Who was she going to tell? The paladin? What would it matter if she did? He already knew, much to my displeasure, who I was. But, like a gallant fool, he had vowed he'd stay silent and I believed him. If there is one thing you can count on it's that morons will always stay morons. His imaginary God required him to uphold a useless sense of honor, and that devout imbecile had proved himself far too engrossed in his world of pretend to use the information he had gained sensibly. I'd have turned him over immediately if that were me.

Then, there was the assassin. The amazon could potentially tell her, and that could be a real problem. My lip curled slightly at the thought, but then all she really could do was know that necromancers were buying Adder's Vice. It's a poison, and that's what we are famous for after all. Especially me. But in a way, that fact in itself would put further suspicions on Darius. So it might not be entirely for our disadvantage. I blinked and I felt the nasty expression on my face fade away as a fact I had been so quick to overlook came back to me. The amazon, for whatever Trag 'Oul begotten reason had said she did what she did out of a concern for me. If she was concerned for me then it didn't make sense for her to go running to the assassin with what she saw. That would be counterproductive for her. And to further matters, I didn't believe that she had mentioned seeing Darius earlier to her anyway. The assassins definitely would have made some type of move to alert me, or especially Darius, that they knew. Darius said it himself. Most of the assassins he had encountered, save this one I found myself with currently, weren't very good.

So the chances were that by making some type of move to get rid of the amazon I'd likely cause far more problems for myself than just letting this issue drop. Nobody had to know about this. Wait. . . . The realization hit me like a punch in the face. I had never, ever let an issue this important just slip away from me like this. EVER. People always talk and one way or another, I usually end up silencing them. Could it be that I actually trusted her? Was that why I had just dismissed this? I trusted whatever childish feelings of affection or friendship she had for me to be my shield against her betrayal? That was extremely dangerous. . . . A feeling of revulsion crept over me and I could feel my body itself protest the realization I had just made to myself. It was extremely dangerous, and . . . extremely true. I trusted her.

I felt the gag form in my throat, a physical reminder for the upsetting emotion. I stifled it quickly as the assassin turned her gaze to me. How unbelievably pathetic indeed. And talk about terrifying. I'd rather face the demon. The good news was that with this many people, that meant more fodder for the demon while the more competent of us made an attack.

"What are you looking at, assassin?" I said coldly to her. She didn't reply, instead she merely turned away.

"So who is in charge here?" the rogue asked, looking over the assembled extras we had acquired.

"That good question. We need to establish order," the sorcerer agreed.

One of the guards with a decorated helm and a velvety red cloak stepped forward; he looked slightly older and more worn than the rest. "My name is Rasheed. I'm his Excellency's captain in command. My orders from Lord Jerhyn were clear. We are to assist you in your mission to bring the monster Diablo to justice," he said evenly with his voice, though his jaw did clench slightly upon the mention of the Lord of Terror.

All three of the decorated mercenaries stepped beside him. The mercenary in the middle of the group of three spoke. "We are the Havanti brothers. I am Vill, this is Tron, and this Zyn. Commander Griez has given us charge over our lot," he said gesturing first to his left, then to his right.

"This isn't going to work," the assassin said plainly. "We can't have four commanders plus ourselves. That would cause discord in the blink of an eye."

"Yeah, especially when Nira n' tha—" the barbarian began.

"We need one leader for the entire team," the rogue began.

"Well, whom do all of you follow?" the guard captain asked.

I scowled, but wasn't surprised when everyone minus myself turned to the paladin. He looked around himself, though he seemed mildly surprised.

"I suppose that's me," he said humbly after a few minutes of silence and nods from various people.

"It will be a good choice since your other allies will likely listen to you as well when they arrive," our former mercenary said with a nod of his own in reference to our absent she-cat.

"Very well," the paladin agreed. "I will assume command of this group until this mission is completed. With your consent of course," he added, eyeing the trio of mercenary commanders.

They looked to each other, then nodded. "Ahmad has told us good things about your skills. We will except this recommendation but know that each of us," the mercenary on the right stated, "Looks out for ourselves first and foremost."

"Sounds like your kind of people, jackass," the sorceress said to me sarcastically.

"Yeah, your number just increased like ten-fold," the warrior growled scathingly.

"I can't do anything about that," the paladin said frankly. "But, there are too many of us now to simply have one person call all the shots when we are in the midst of a battle. I'm going to treat this like an army," he added, "and form a chain of command accordingly. I'm going to separate you into squadrons," he furthered. "Form off into groups of five," the paladin requested.

I watched incredulously as even the mercenaries obeyed him without question. How the hell did the man get this position? No one had even batted an eyelash. When they were assembled, we had five groups, though two had six people instead of five.

The paladin turned to our scattered party. "Alminus, I'll ask you to head group one," he said to the gargantuan man, whom nodded and walked over to the group he'd been assigned. "Ryelass, head group two," he requested. "Maria, group three. Cloudyous, group four. And Chyemme, if you will please lead group five," the paladin asked respectfully.

All of them nodded. The mercenaries in the druid's group eyed his entourage of animals with unease. A humored grin came to my face when I realized that some of them must have been on duty when the beasts broke free in the first place and where running amok killing people. According to the amazon the bear alone had killed four people that she saw.

"What about us?" the rogue asked curiously.

"I would like you to stay up in the front with me," the paladin requested, "and use your inner sight as a guide for us. Vendra, you will have to lead the way, you're the only one that knows it, and Sovellis will have to be beside you, he has the Horadric staff. I will remain at the head of the group and respond accordingly to anything that arises," he explained.

"Any objections, other than Piricus?" the sorceress asked as she looked at me sarcastically. "He's the only one you didn't name," she added with a childish taunt.

I scowled. "The paladin knows better than to give me orders. I'll mess up his little system," I said frankly.

"Actually," the paladin began seriously, "You're going to have an enormous part to play, Piricus. I want you to be the link between us and Nira's tribe when they arrive. You are the other person she will listen to," he said hesitantly.

"Scorpious, tell me you're not serious?" the sorceress said in shock.

He nodded solemnly. "I am. Piricus has no reason not to go along with this. His life is as much at stake here as anyone else's," he said, giving me a confident look.

"That's true," the amazon said for me from in front of her group.

"We don't have time to waste. Let's go. I don't like it, but Scorpious is her other master so it's not like Piricus can command her or any of them to attack him. So far they have proven themselves to be logical," the warrior stated sourly.

"N' don' forget capable," the barbarian added.

"When are you expecting them?" one of the mercenaries asked. "These allies of yours?"

"Right now," I said simply. I could feel the rustle of breeze that was movement and in a blink, several fully armored saber-cats materialized from nowhere. Apparently, they were using their magnetic fields as they moved.

The tawny saber-cat that called herself my minion was at the forefront of the group next to a bronzy one that I recognized as being able to speak common tongue from our previous encounter. And to my surprise, next to them was the male.

Not to my surprise, several weapons were drawn and there were shouts of mass commotion from the stunned humans in our ranks. There were angry murmurs and startled gasps, but the paladin responded quickly. This would be a true test of the authority they had all supposedly just given him.

"Everyone stand down immediately! Stand down! These are our allies and you have my word that they will not harm us!" he commanded loudly and sternly enough for all to hear.

As I thought, it was going to take much more than some ninny's yelling to break the racial tension between the saber-cats and these human halfwits. No one lowered their weapons, but no one attacked either. None of the humans anyway. There was ground that still needed testing.

"Took you long enough," I said to the she-cat simply.

She stepped slightly forward and bowed her furry head apologetically. "I'm sorry, master, but a battle of this magnitude is not quickly prepared for."

"Don't give me your excuses," I said simply, evoking a loud growl from the bronze one.

"Insolent firha," the bronze one growled. "Nira, gonna jist fou jir?" she snapped.

The she-cat at my disposal grumbled something I didn't understand in a hushed tone, and the bronze one roared loudly, making all the mercenaries save the three in charge and the guard captain jump.

"What did she just say to you, kitty-cat?" I asked plainly, unimpressed with the lion-like noise I'd just heard from her compatriot.

The bronze one was quick to action, she drew a spiked whip that I recognized and drew back her arm to flail it. The saber-cat at my disposal snarled, and grabbed her arm, clearly a protective measure of me. The two grappled for a moment over the weapon and snarled at each other, showing their razor-sharp fangs to their full extent. This was a challenge of authority, though I wondered vaguely if the male was going to do something.

"Piricus!" the sorceress snapped at me. "They're supposed to be working with us! Don't egg them on!"

"She's right. This could get ugly and we need everyone working together. Lionesses that vie for power usually end up killing each other," the druid warned gravely, watching the display.

"So?" I said simply. And watched as the two of them continued to roar and fight for control of the whip. In a move of sheer speed, the bronze saber cat kicked our she-cat in the shin with the claws on her feet. She stumbled and fell and the bronze one moved in for the finish.

"Jackass, I swear I'll—" the sorceress started dangerously as she watched our saber-cat's imminent defeat approach.

"Piricus—" the paladin said quickly.

"Kitty-cat," I called sternly, "don't retaliate. That's an order," I commanded strictly.

"Wha'? Piricus have ya gone crazy?" the barbarian cried incredulously.

Our she-cat looked at me in bewilderment and I could see the protest in her eyes and in every muscle fiber that rippled beneath her tawny fur. Her instinct told her to fight back, to fight for her survival and her self-pride demanded she rise to the challenge and defeat her foe. She opened her mouth to say something, maybe to protest. Her fierce cat's-eye pupils stared into me defiantly, a challenge. I did not waver in my command, and I didn't break eye contact. I stared her down apathetically. Her eyes soon gave way to a questioning glance, one that I did not answer either. The bronze saber-cat was an inch away from impaling the she-cat's neck with her claws, when at last our saber-cat laid her furry head down on the sand in defeat, with her golden hair covering her face.

"Nira!" the rogue cried in concern and fear.

In a motion that I could hardly register, the male, whom had been silently watching this display stepped between them and grabbed the bronze one's hand, yanking her backwards with little-to-no effort. She turned to him with an enraged look. He said something to her and with his tone I could tell it was a command. Her feral anger soon receded into total submission and she backed down, standing silently and completely still at his side. He was the alpha of this group; that much was obvious and she dared not disobey.

"What in hell was that about?" the warrior snarled at me as our she-cat gave me an odd look. The male locked his wild eyes on mine and then said something in their strange language.

"Nira, what did he say just now?" the amazon asked from behind me.

Our she-cat returned to her feet when I nodded at her. She looked to the male, whom nodded as well. "Ketan says that master necromancer is a very wise human. He understands what master has done, and he wants me to assure you, there will be no retaliation from us," she translated.

"Seriously, what in the hell just happened?" the guard Captain asked as he eyed all of the saber-cats uneasily.

"We did nothing to anger them," our former mercenary said, weary.

"Piricus just tested Nira's loyalty to him as a master," the assassin said bluntly. "This was an extremely important turn of events because Nira is back among her own tribe. Piricus was testing her to see if she would still obey his commands, even one so harsh as to take a mortal blow or in this case, lose a challenge where her self-pride was on the line. This was about trust," she added simply.

Our she-cat stared at her briefly, before nodding. "That it is. And I assure you, the codes of the frasa have not changed in my brief absence among you. It is still our way," she said looking to the male, "and something we will honor. Master necromancer deliberately disgraced me, because he knows that Gyra has a very short temper and would attack him," she said submissively.

"You wanted to see if she would protect you first, then if she would listen to you still," the amazon translated.

"Incredible," one of the mercenary brothers said in disbelief.

"You would put your life in their hands?" the guard Captain asked skeptically.

"That was the test here, imbecile. Or were you not listening?" I said to him impatiently. "But, the obvious answer to that question is yes," I added.

"An extreme gamble," said the second of the mercenary brothers.

"No," I said flatly in response. "Because if she failed this test I'd have killed them both myself. I have no need of protection," I said bluntly, and honestly. That much was true. I had more than enough power to wipe out a bunch of half-human kittens if things went to the tail end of Trag 'Oul.

"If he trusts them, we should too," said our former mercenary, much to my surprise. "This frasa," he began uncertainly, for a better lack of things to call her without insulting her, "has been fighting honorably alongside the group, and that includes me even after I made the foolish mistake of attacking her," he admitted shamelessly.

Several of his mercenary comrades looked to him in surprise, and some with definite disapproval. None of the guards seemed surprised however, which made me grin ironically. If things went south we'd end up in a four way battle. This group of ten I found myself mystically and most annoyingly stuck with, the saber-cats, the mercenaries, and the guards would all try and hold to their own if some disagreement went down, and that was not to mention any demons that might be in the area if such an event was to occur.

I expected more resentment than what we got, however. Our former guide lowered his halberd and placed it in a relaxed position. Several of his colleges followed suit, but not all.

"None of us drew our weapons," the amazon reminded the stubborn lot of men behind her disapprovingly. "And believe me we know what we're doing."

"You have my word that they will not harm us," the paladin repeated. "I place my trust in the frasa wholeheartedly. They honor their word, this I know myself from experience, and if you do not believe me, believe your own eyes with what you just saw," he said powerfully. The paladin then proceeded to walk up the male, albeit slowly. The paladin bowed respectfully as he had last time.

"Nira," he requested politely, "please tell Ketan that I am pleased that you have come to help us in our time of need and I wish to formally establish an alliance until Diablo can be stopped."

She nodded, and turned to the male, translating the paladin's words. The male said something, then she translated back. "I have told him of our travels and of your skills, though he knows much already from your previous encounter. He says that you have honor and this he respects. He knows you will not abandon your pride and this now includes me. Because of this, he believes you are trustworthy. Ketan says that he will lead the Frasa in battle, as is his right, but through me and Gyra, he will cooperate with you. Master paladin, Ketan has given you a great honor. He considers you and master necromancer as Frasahif," she said humbly.

"A what?" the sorceress asked curiously.

"In other words, Ketan considers us like him, leaders of this "pride"," the paladin translated for her.

Our she-cat nodded. "This is so. This is an honor because no human has ever been given this privilege before. "Do you accept this, master paladin? Master necromancer?" she asked us formally. I simply nodded. I had no time for a ceremony.

"Don't pray over it paladin," I growled as I watched him draw his sword. Just say yes and let's get this the hell over with."

The paladin said nothing to me, but brought the flat of his sword down hard upon the broadside of his newly acquired shield over his chest, a salute of respect. The male must have gotten the idea, because he roared so loudly in reply that the red clay canyon walls started to shake and his roar was followed by a chorus of agreement from the females, whom all bellowed the cry to action as well.

The paladin turned to the makeshift army he'd been given command over, all of them seemed to be at least temporarily put in place by this display. That had been my intention with this little test all along. To give these fools a visual, something they could see and believe. Not to say that I blamed them. I really wouldn't go up against something like the Lord of Terror without some sort of solid guarantee that our "allies" that are actually considered a type of demon themselves, wouldn't turn on us either. But this little test had only put away the initial reactions of mistrust. It was going to take an actual battle for them to truly work together, if they would at all. That fact still remained to be seen.

"Forward!" he called powerfully, a command that the bronze female repeated to the saber-cats and we all assumed a position in rank following the sorceress, save myself. I walked midway between the line of humans and saber-cats. The bronze one eyed me like a hungry hawk, to which I just merely gave her a sarcastic smile. She wouldn't dare touch me and I knew that for a fact. There are some things you can trust after all. Some things, and some people. I discreetly looked to the amazon, whom had assumed head position of her group. Was it a mistake? Only time would tell.

We passed several oddly marked ruins in our trek across the sandy space. Some look like they had once been made of brick, some of clay, and some of actual stone, giving hint that this place might have actually been older than the desert itself due to the fact I didn't see any buildings made out the current canyon rock. Various places seemed to still retain a vague shape of the supporting structure, suggesting the buildings were at the very least sturdy and by the number of ruins around and how close to each other they were, my guess was that this place had once been an actual city itself. I stepped on an ancient looking piece of pottery that was sticking up out the sand slightly and the brittle clay snapped beneath my boots. I vaguely looked down at the picture on it through the shattered fragments.

There was a depiction of a female figure, wearing armor and holding what looked like a pole in an attacking position, but the piece that depicted the head was missing and I had nearly powdered the piece that had the rest of the weapon painted on it. There, beside the woman was an odd sight. It looked like the hand of some creature. It was wrapped in bandages, not unlike a mummy and those were common in this region, but the hand was perfectly smooth and depicted in a white paint, odd because the rest of this reddish pot was painted in a standard inky-black charcoal. The fingers of this hand were obviously not human as I got a better look at them. They were elongated and wispy like tentacles. They also ended in enormous claws, conceiving the idea that this mummified hand was actually some type of demon.

The amazon walked by me with her small company of men and as she walked by I did a double take. The likeness in her armor design, at least the red leather chest-piece she wore was extremely strong to the crumbling picture by my heel. I shook my head for a moment and then looked around for any connecting piece of pottery that might have had more of the creature or the woman on it, but found none. If there were any, they were probably buried deep under the sand. I blinked and continued walking. It shouldn't have been that surprising to me actually. Lord Rathma had told me in the days of the Horadrim, there had been many battle magesses that wore armor and many fought against demons of the burning legions. This area was rife with their legends and lore. That urn was probably a depiction of some long-forgotten event that occurred here. There was absolutely nothing modern about it. I decided that I just had the amazon on my mind and chose to think immediately about something else for pertinent to the situation at hand.

I didn't have to wait long. Our saber-cat let out a low growl that was mimicked by the others. The hair on my arms stood on end as an electric current passed through the air with the static clinging to my skin. I didn't have to really guess. I knew that this new occurrence was from the lightning beetles we had encountered several days ago in the desert.

We didn't even have time to blink before the bipedal beetles came running through the desert terrain at top speed with pincers and antennae clicking. Their vibrant, violet shells hummed with electricity that soon spread from their shells to their long, mantis-like arms and permeated off of the jagged spiky hairs at the ends.

What our she-cat had said about them was true. They were very fast. In the time it took me to turn to them and blink, the carnivorous insects had slashed into two of the members of the barbarian's group and were devouring everything, armor and all in their enormous pincers. Blood sprayed through the area as the beetles ripped the chest of one of their victims open, painting a few of the other humans around them with the gore. I could see the panic in their eyes as their blind instincts started to kick in. The remaining members of the barbarian's group backed away hastily and made to scatter.

"Stay with your groups!" the paladin commanded as he moved toward the group in trouble. His advice came slightly too late for a guard in the warrior's group, whom had attempted to flee from a monster closing in on him. I was amazed by the pack abilities of these insects, and the apparent intelligence. The one chasing the ill-fated guard did not attack him, but as he fled from it, it steered him into the arms of three of its fellows, which shredded into him like parchment in their frenzied haze to feed.

The barbarian had come to the aid of the members of his group; he hastily swung his axe in retaliation as a demon beetle brought its claws crashing down in attempt at a mercenary beside him. The second the barbarian's weapon made impact with the monster, lightning sparked up and through it. The gargantuan man immediately relinquished his weapon, saving himself from the fatal lightning that would have been his end. He grabbed the mercenary beside himself and yanked him out of harm's way.

"Use your weapons at range!" I heard the amazon command her battalion, "Don't touch them, you'll be fried!"

Heartened by the command not to get close to the creatures, several of the guards and mercenaries began hurling various weapons while the two magi, the rogue, and the amazon fired projectiles of their own.

Not surprisingly, the saber-cats were having a similar situation. A group of fifteen or so scarabs had engaged their pride in battle. Several beetles had closed in around two or three of them that had been separated from the rest by the sheer number of beetles. One of the lilac-colored insects did manage to take down one of them; it slashed through the muscle and fur into her heart, killing her instantly. The loss enraged the other two, and together they jumped atop the culprit monster and starting ripping off its limbs with their sheer strength. Lightning sparked all along the monster, including into the two she-cats attempting to finish it off. I could see the strain the magic was having on them. Their muscles were quivering in their legs and arms. They would be dead soon if the contact didn't cease.

One of the she-cats roared to the others and threw a green vial that exploded into a familiar poisonous cloud upon breaking. The two injured she-cats jumped hastily aside, clearing the immediate area.

The saber-cats however, seemed to be having less difficultly evading their attacks, they at least, knew what to expect. I noticed oddly that unless one of the scarabs touched them first, none of the saber-cats were physically striking their enemies. I knew this was because they emitted an electric charge from their insectine limbs upon contact, but that didn't explain why they weren't using actual ranged weapons like throwing knives, spears, or fulminating potions.

That answer became apparent as well. The projectiles the humans had dispatched against their adversaries couldn't have been more harmless to the monsters and more baleful to us. In addition to acting like a conduit, their shells must have been reinforced as armor. The pitiful array of melee weapons bounced harmlessly off their armored carapaces and to my surprise, so did the magical attacks of the sorcerer and sorceress. In their place, at the precise locations where the projectiles had struck, chain bursts of charged lightning bolts bubbled into being, seemly sprouting from the waves of electric current when they hit an anomaly in the insects' shells.

The first wave of bolts where easy enough to dodge, no one seemed to suffer any injury, but the imminent complication came when the wonton bolts that had failed to claim a living target smashed into pieces of the inanimate environment. Whenever the bolts made contact with something solid, instead of dissipating, they branched off into lightning clusters of three or more new bolts. One palace guard had the misfortune of holding his iron throwing knife too close to his face; two of the bolts, drawn by the metallic composition of his weaponry collided with its iron surface and arced from his hand into his cast-iron helm, charring his body black in seconds and frying every tissue fiber he had beyond any use it might have been to me.

I watched with a scowl as two of the saber cats also met their end at the tip of charged bolts. They had far more insulation than us humans with their fur and thick muscles and they were still being ripped through like a hot knife into butter. And coupled with the fact that they weren't wearing any overtly metallic armor either said something for the severity of the situation. I hastily summoned a bone shield from the carcass off one of the slain mercenaries the lilac-colored insects were engorging themselves on. I felt no remorse about the action whatsoever and the others had been too engrossed in trying to dodge sparking balls of death to notice. From the reality of the situation, there wouldn't even have been enough of his corpse to salvage, let alone recognize for some sentimental thing like a family burial. If I hadn't used it, the demons would have eaten it anyway. The jagged, spineous fragments of the slain man's bones rocketed through the surface of his mangled carcass like bony spires of death and shredded into the fleshy underbellies of the three demons that were feeding on his remains. The bones went straight through the monsters on their way to me, but not before the brief contact released about fifteen more lightning balls into the atmosphere.

I interlocked the bones together at a crucial moment in front of me, effectively shielding myself from a barrage of lightning strikes. Bones have no metal, therefore they did not conduct any of the insects' magic. But, the contact didn't change the outcome in the slightest. Where each ball hit my shield, it branched into three more. We were running out of time and out of options. The more we struck them or even tried to defend ourselves, the more demon lightning we'd unleash. And though the canyon was fairly wide at this point, at the rate these haywire magic balls were replicating, soon there wouldn't be anywhere left to go.

I felt the paladin's magic wash over me once more. It was a feeling I despised, but I had to admit I was becoming used to it. The aura was one we'd had before. I could feel the idiot's magical ring attempt to deter the egregious amount of lightning gathering around us. Through the gaps in my shield I could see that the paladin's aura was actually mildly successful; ten or so bolts that were about to smash into the amazon and her group sizzled into nothing when they hit their collective auras.

The male saber-cat said something I didn't understand to the bronze female, whom looked about, if not more so, displeased with the new magic that had enveloped them as well. She snarled at me above the noise.

"Master Ketan says if your paladin Frasahif can hold this magic, we should mount for an offensive immediately," she said as though she had just eaten something extremely sour.

As much as I despised having to communicate with the paladin, in this case it was a necessity. I turned to relay the message and almost received a lightning ball in the face. I quickly supplemented his fading lightning shield for my bone shield once more. What did I tell you? Incompetent . . . . the paladin's magic was beginning to falter. What a surprise. Then again, I'd never seen his magic applied to such an enormous group of beings before. From my understandings, magic over such a large crowd usually was sustained by more than one person. When paladins went into battle, they had each other and all of them were usually using the same aura, which is where they get their supposed "divine" strength in their ranks. It wasn't their God; it was a bunch of magi working together. But, the paladin would more than likely see this short-coming as divinely-related and bitch about his faith needing work later. If it caused him mental anguish, I couldn't say that would bother me in the slightest. What did bother me was that with his aura fading, we weren't going to have enough protection to mount an effective offensive. We needed another plan, swiftly.

"Kitty-cat!" I demanded over the noise, catching her golden eyes. She nimbly leapt over a cluster of rocks to reach my side.

"Master," she said respectfully.

"Formalities later," I said in a breath. "What do you know about these things?"

"They are very strong, and fast, and—" she began.

"Tell me something useful I don't already know a little faster," I commanded as she and I both yielded to opposite sides when a scarab brought its glistening pincers between us. She repositioned herself beside me and I maneuvered my shield in front of myself, allowing us a temporary relief from our attacker. Time enough for her to tell me how to finish these things.

"The yurta of these greth agarm will eventually subside, if the creatures are dealt with. I believe, master that if we can somehow finish all of them at once, though we will likely cause a large explosion, their yurta will diminish quickly afterwards," she informed quickly.

"We'd have to shield ourselves, but we don't have anything grounded enough or strong enough to withstand an electrical surge like that," I hissed in frustration. "A blast like that would even clear metal. Enchanted bone might hold out better, but even then . . ." I growled. Even if I could create a bone shield that tough, where was I going to get the quantity of them to do so? Under the sand and using every fallen carcass, demon and human alike I probably had enough to do about twenty feet of wall long-ways, or reinforced upon itself in layers about seven feet long and four feet thick. I hated this feeling of mortality and sensing my own limitations. I could perhaps conjure more bones with my mana, but it would leave me too drained to do much else. I needed more to work with, but looking around, I saw only clay, sand, and stone.

"Ask the human of the fire-hair," our she-cat said quickly, glancing to the druid, where he was attempting to put some distance between his group and four attacking beetles. I saw that the bear must have taken a lightning ball to the side, a spot on its grizzled fur had been singed and I could sense a superficial sear to its cutaneous tissues. "He has command over Arja, ventil, and even vistryl! Certainly he can do something with tanna," she insisted. "Rocks," she said apologetically. "Tanna means rock in your language," she added, seeing the impatient look on my face.

I surveyed the surroundings swiftly, and let my eyes rest on an indentation in the red canyon wall to the left. If one of us could strike that spot with enough force, it would trigger a landslide. If we lured the lightning scarabs underneath it, we could ideally take all of them out with one swipe. The question was if the druid would have enough strength to guide the rock away from us, then to use those same rocks as a shield for us from the impending lightning blast? The outer layers of the canyon were made of various red-toned clays, but beyond those there were solid layers of off-white sandstone. The stone looked thick to me, and there was plenty of it. But I wasn't a druid. Rocks held little to no interest to me and I knew as much about controlling them as I did about identifying them.

"Hey druid, feel like squishing beetles?" I yelled to him over the din sarcastically.

He turned to me for a fraction of a second and followed my suggestive gaze over to the crevice in the canyon wall. At least the man recognized what I was trying to tell him without any more words. He scanned the area over quickly, then the beetles and an uncertain expression crept over his face.

"Druid, tell me these things aren't precious to you!" I shouted incredulously. "Even your mutts have better sense than to revere vermin!" I snarled. If he was hesitating because these things were even slightly animalistic, well, I'd use his corpse in my bone shield after all.

The druid shook his head. "That's sandstone! It's too brittle! We'd be blasted!" he called back, having come to the same conclusion as the she-cat about what would happen after the beetles were destroyed. The druid grabbed the scruff of his black mutt, pulling it away from an overzealous attack it had been about to make on a violet beetle. "We can crush them with the stones no problem, but we'll still be vulnerable!" he finalized.

"Is there another way? Something else that we can ground ourselves in?" the amazon asked hastily as she and one of her men moved away from three more beetles that were trying to pin them together.

I watched as the barbarian stepped down and tripped over a small scrub-bush and skinned the top of his gigantic hand over a small tri-bundle of blooming desert cacti.

"The vistryl!" our saber-cat yelled to him in exclamation.

The druid eyed the miniscule cactus that the barbarian's skid had unearthed and the small clusters of scrubby vegetation scattered around the canyon floor. He and his bird shared some glance between them and he nodded. "Pull everyone together!" he affirmed loudly, signaling to the warrior and his group that were closest to him.

"We need to lure them together!" the warrior yelled loudly, relaying the message as he swiftly dodged a strike from a scarab and grabbed the arm of a man next to him, pulling him out of harm's way as well.

The assassin heard him and nodded, furthering the message to the amazon, which told the barbarian and finally the plan made its way to the paladin. I turned to my saber-cat minion. "Tell your male what's going on and move with us," I ordered plainly. She nodded and swiftly turned to obey. I heard a series of growls as the saber-cats passed the word along.

"Rally to me!" the paladin said, calling the command and moving to action. "Head for the wall!" He added as he made a line for the canyon's edge, collecting different groups into one collective unit. The rogue, sorcerer, and sorceress followed closely beside him, with the two magi using mana shields to deflect the numerous bolts of surging electricity while everyone left alive made a cohesive movement to the canyon wall. The saber-cats followed suit and soon we were in position. The druid nodded to the paladin as the large scarabs regrouped themselves and closed in around us, effectively pinning us against the canyon wall. If this went wrong, we would all die.

"Chyemme," the paladin called authoritatively, "take those rocks out on my signal!"

The amazon nodded obediently and I felt a different type of electricity charge the air. Elemental lightning crackled to life over the point of a long javelin she hastened to the ready. Lightning started to arch from the point down the rest of the javelin's blade and then over the shaft of the weapon. She took careful aim, though she kept one eye on the paladin.

The lightning scarabs interlocked themselves together, barring any chance anyone would have had of escaping their ranks and sprung forward in unison with a cockiness about them that clearly suggested they thought themselves the victors of this battle. Their pincers and enormous arms clacked together with an unsettling sound, with the way they were calling to each other in harmony, it was a symphony of insectine thunder.

The paladin gave the amazon a steady command and lashed his fist in the air. She expertly loosed the sparking javelin into precisely the right spot on the cliff side with ease. The lightning of her magic sparked up and through the loose, earthy debris as the projectile itself soared through a couple of key strategic stones, then exploded. The rumble of the insect predators was replaced by one of pure earthen vengeance as several tons of desert sandstone came cascading down the cliff face like a waterfall. The druid closed his eyes and I could feel him unleash his primal magic in an encompassing wave all around our huddled entourage. His magic acted as a buffer as it connected with individual rocks that strayed from the flow and bounced them back onto course.

The resounding crunch that followed suit when the full force of the landslide crushed the lightning scarabs to grit sounded very much like breaking ice. That or you can also liken it unto squishing a particularly large spider under your boot. You take your pick. Either way, to me, it was a satisfying sound. I could feel the life energy of the predators leave their bodies instantly, but their menacing lightning burst forth from their carcasses at the same moment. The sheer force of the explosion would have knocked the druid backwards, but the sorceress and sorcerer were shielding him with their magic as he shielded us all with his own. Uninterrupted, the druid focused his magical currents into the ground. I tensed when something prickly wrapped around my foot and I saw the beginnings of some subterranean vine snake out of the sand and start to climb over my body. I had the instinct to struggle against the weed that was blossoming over my entire body now, somewhere in the corner of my mind I wondered if the vine was going to choke me, but it made no move to attack. Small, hair-like projections on the base of the vine vibrated in the air and then stood on end. I saw a bright flash of white light as the final retaliation of the scarab demons reached us.

I was thoroughly surprised when I didn't even feel the slightest hints of static. The almost transparent hairs on the vine absorbed the wrath of lightning and channeled it through the stem into the roots and ground below. After a few moments, all was still.

"It's over," the sorceress affirmed, using whatever magical sense she thought she had to check the air.

"Praise Allah," I heard a few of the mercenaries and guards breathe.

"No, praise magic," I corrected as I instantly ripped free of the druid's plant when it was no longer necessary. The plant itself miraculously shriveled, and then shrank, disappearing back into the forsaken sands from which it had come.

"Tha' wers incredible, Cloudyous," the barbarian said bluntly when the desert dust and rock powder had settled. We had a clear shot ahead, devoid of enemies as far as the eye and my necromantic skills told me. A fact that the rogue and amazon affirmed shortly thereafter.

"Yeah, I don't sense anything else nearby," the rogue announced.

"Me either," the amazon agreed.

"Then let's hurry the hell up!" the warrior growled, brushing himself off.

I heard a familiar yelp and turned to see our former guide swipe the edge of his halberd across a spasming insect's limb as it flailed pitifully from underneath its rocky tomb. The creature was already dead, as was evident by the lack of lightning. It must have been the nerve endings as they shorted. It was still a pathetic display, even more so because the errant strike had come dangerously close to severing his leg.

A couple of the she-cats made a sound that sounded not too distant from sarcastic human laughter and the three mercenary brothers in charge of that group scowled.

"Watch it," the barbarian said jokingly, though the mercenary didn't hear him. I could see his mind wandering off to some distant shore, and his hand flickered over a central point on his armor.

"Daydream about the afterlife later, imbecile," I growled. "Paladin, let's get the hell going. Now," I demanded after I was sure myself that nothing else was going to bar our way.

"What about the deceased? Shouldn't we hold a service?" one of the palace guards asked shakily as he looked around at the gore we'd strewn the canyon with.

"Normally I would agree with you," the paladin began gently, "but time is of the essence here. We will hold service upon our return to Lut Gholeign, I'll see to it personally," the paladin promised.

"You mean if we make it back," one of the other guards said bitterly, loudly enough for all to hear. "We just lost five people in that one battle. And that's just us humans. I don't know how many _they_ lost," he added in reference to the saber-cats.

"It could be lot worse," the sorcerer scolded him.

"What's the tally, kitty-cat?" I asked vaguely.

I heard the familiar growl from the bronzy cat, but it was actually she who answered me. "Three. But it is as your paladin frasahif has stated. We do not have time to mourn the dead. Those that died have died in battle and that is the most fitting end for anyone, especially a frasa. Master grows restless, he says we are getting close and we mustn't stop," she relayed, reading all of that from a mere glance shared between herself and the male.

"We move forward," the paladin agreed while issuing the command at the same time. " Have some faith," the paladin said, though more gently as he patted the man's armored shoulder and we began moving again, lead by the sorceress.

We passed deeper into the canyon with every second, and it seemed with every step we took, the more narrow the canyon became. The horizontal hues of the canyon's rock layers all seemed to blend together here into one color. They all narrowed together and became blood red. I could sense a dark presence start to encroach upon the air and about four feet in front of the paladin at the head of the group, a large ten-foot obelisk was protruding out of the sand. There was a triangular symbol marked upon it and shortly to the left of that, a slim outcropping of rock wall containing the entranceway into some passage.

There was another, similar sight on our right. Another obelisk, only this one had a square upon it. I eyed the narrow, winding path and noticed there were a series of these spires with symbols, each next to a darkened doorway. There were eight all in all, four on each side, and they were aligned like houses on a street. Other than the symbol, there were no distinguishing factors among them.

"Are these the tombs?" the palace guard captain asked as he eyed them wearily.

"Yes," the sorceress answered simply.

"Which one? They all look the same," one of the mercenary brothers added.

The sorceress walked to the third tomb on the right and brushed her hand across the sandy, dust-laden surface of the marking obelisk. She unearthed a dilapidated half circle, bearing strong resemblance to the mark we had seen on the summoner's journal.

"This one," she said and made to enter the causeway.

"No," the sorcerer said suddenly as he walked over to another tomb marker and revealed another, similar shape. The two were almost identical, my guess was that the desert sands had eroded away part of one symbol and now the two markers were almost identical. "This way."

"Well, which one is it?" the warrior demanded harshly. It seemed to me with every step he took into this place, the more keyed up he became.

The sorceress looked from her obelisk to the sorcerer's multiple times. The uncertainty began to show in her face. "I'm not sure. The journal only had a distinguishing symbol."

"Damn it," the warrior hissed, "We don't have time for this! We need to go into the right tomb or Diablo could free Baal while we're trolling around lost in the catacombs!" he snarled.

Just the mention of the two prime evils stirred an unease in everyone that could speak the common tongue, even the bronzy she-cat and our saber-cat looked stiff.

"This way," the sorcerer insisted. "I get odd feeling. Like staff tell me where to go. It know path. It be here before," he continued strangely.

"You're taking directions from a stick now sorcerer?" I said sourly.

"A magical, glowing stick jackass," the sorceress said, taking a minute and uneasy crack at me.

"Things are starting off really well already," I scowled sarcastically.

The amazon walked over to the sorcerer, and I thought I could see a slight tremble in her steps. She ran her hands just inches above the surface of the red entryway, and I felt her inner sight scan it. There really was no mistaking her reaction. She closed her eyes and began to quiver intensely, a sight I'd never seen from her before. She hastily backed away from the door, shaking so badly I thought she might lose control of her legs.

"Chyemme?" the warrior asked, his voice going strangely soft for one that had been so irritable just moments before.

"Spit it out amazon," I said bluntly after she held her silence for a few seconds. "What the hell did you see?"

The tremble in her body passed into her voice when she answered quietly. "Hell is right. Exactly right. I saw Diablo. Diablo himself walked through this door," she said immediately falling silent again.

Resolve steeled in everyone, to say that it didn't would have been a lie. The paladin placed a hand on her shoulder reassuringly, and then turned to us drawing his blessed broadsword into the ready position.

"By the power of the light, and all we hold dear, let's send this creature back to the abyss," he said powerfully. "For good," he added with a stout look to the warrior and like a gallant idiot, he led the way into the darkness below.


	19. Chapter 19

AN: Hey everyone, sorry this took so long to get out to you, but it's very long and took me a while. I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe holiday season. Enjoy!

The Prince of Pain

Chyemme

My legs wouldn't stop shaking; even seconds later, after the realization of what I saw had been processed through my mind. My steps were unsteady as I attempted to walk after Scorpious at the head of the group and I desperately tried to imitate the calm demeanor he had displayed. I focused on putting one foot in front of the other and noticed to my displeasure that my quivering legs were actually causing a subliminal rattle in the platemail covering my upper legs.

Why? Why was I so afraid? Diablo was a demon, and it seemed like I'd already faced thousands of those. I had faced Andariel herself. Why was this different? It seemed as if this demon had some supernatural ability to attack my mind even when I had never encountered him before and even in visions my feet froze. I looked around furtively at the others. None of them seemed to share my sense of dread, not even Laurella and she was usually the most prone to such things. True, she had experienced something I guess must have been very similar with Andariel, but then again, Laurella had a connection with the monster, if not because of her sister then because she was a rogue. But that begged the question in my mind if the connection theory was valid, what possible connection could I have to such a monster?

My mind replayed the chilling image I had just witnessed when I touched the door that the demon himself had recently brushed against. I had seen a dejected and broken looking man in a simple robe of brown sackcloth. He had a deep hood that covered his face and he seemed to drag with every step he took. He was hunched over and the way he moved was more like a slug or snail, with one apparent surge forward and then letting the rest of himself fall after it. He was weakened somehow, as though perhaps the desert heat or the harsh sands had eaten away at his strength and I had surely thought he was going to fall over. He did actually stumble and a sun-weathered hand with several deep scars across the top had grabbed part of the doorway. Normal enough, but the instant his hand had touched the doorframe to this ancient crypt, the dirty, yellowed nails on his hands had become pale, almost translucent claws with the tips tinged brown as if with dried blood. His hands hadn't been the only things to change. His energy level seemed to suddenly rocket into the sky. The man stood straight, and there was a power in his steps that suggested he clearly wasn't human as he strode into the tomb. He had disappeared into the darkness, swishing an enormous, dragon-like ruby-colored tail with pale spikes protruding from several odd angles.

He turned, and just for a moment, I saw was inside of the hood. I imagined Marcus must have been very handsome at one point, for though the image was grizzly now, he still held a trace of humanity. He had a bold, slightly longer face, with a square jaw, but all his features seemed to be in a good alignment. He had a shorter nose, a compliment to his slightly dimpled chin. I could tell that his hair had once been a vibrant chestnut, just like Ryelass' and like Ryelass, his eyes were once a subdued shade of green. But before me was not the image of a warrior still fighting. It was the twisted, distorted visage of a man long gone. His face seemed to have been held in a permanent expression of torment, his facial muscles had nearly tweaked sideways, pulling the upper left corner of his mouth nearly into the crook of his nose and revealing several broken, discolored teeth on that side. On the right side of his face there was a large, elongated scar going from his ear to the top of his temple, obviously the signs of a traumatic wound that had failed to close properly. His hair was greasy and unkempt, and almost completely lusterless and his eyes now resembled dying grass. The green hue was still present around the very outer edges but the inner parts of the iris had begun to take a sickly yellowed hue like spoiled milk. The pupils of his eyes seemed to have no vitreous shine, stead they were a dead, inky black and the edges of the darkness seemed to be encroaching on the yellow of the iris, as if any second all of his eye would turn black. And yet, in the blackness of his inner eye, there screamed pure malice and un-sequestered evil which burned brighter than the noonday sun. The look in his eyes . . . .it rattled my heart because I had the gut-wrenching suspicion that we were already too late to save Marcus. I didn't think there was anything left of his soul that we could save. And I had no words to tell what I saw to Ryelass. The wanderer had turned and beckoned to someone else.

In my vision there had been another person present. Strange, because when all my odd dreams started back on the Amazon Isles, I had a vivid recollection of a man I had seen sitting in the corner when all hell literally broke loose. This man would cower in the corner of the ill-fated tavern and for some reason the demons always spared him. He was the only one besides the wanderer to survive this bizarre attack. The wanderer had beckoned, and the man had followed. There was no doubt in my mind that this was the same man from my dreams. He still had that same, demented desperation or compulsion; I couldn't determine a difference of the two, to follow this demonic being for some reason. This scraggly, balding man looked little better for wear than the hollow shell that was Marcus, but he did seem to be in a better, or at the very least, a more human state of mind. He was terrified of going into the crypt. I could distinctly pick up on his terror in my vision, but his demon master had beckoned, and for some reason, he had to obey. I could see that this man was on the verge of madness if he hadn't crossed the line already. Who would knowingly and willingly follow such a monster?

I take that back. Us, that's who. Technically I guess we were "pursuing" it, though the more morbid side of my mind told me there really wasn't that much of a difference. The end result, no matter what you called it, would likely be the same.

I caught Piricus giving me an icy glare from the corner of my eye and I realized I was still shaking. I had tried to tell him how I felt, but for some reason, the words just never seemed to come out. His eyes were like pools of emerald ice, and I was still shaking, but for an entirely different reason. I needed to think about something else. I settled for paying attention to the detail in front of me and the men still under my command behind me. They must have viewed my sudden outburst poorly; a commander should never show their fear to their men and expect them to mask their own. It was a moment of poor leadership, this I realized. The thought of my men's perception of me changed my attitude quickly. I would not be considered weak or they would lose faith in me. I would concentrate on their survival. That should be enough to keep my mind from freely wandering. They had done well in the last battle; luckily I hadn't lost any of the men in my unit. The same couldn't be said for some of the others. Alminus' group seemed to have taken the biggest hit; he lost three of his six men, though through no fault of his own. He had fought bravely to protect them and tried his best to lead them, but the fact of the matter simply was his group had mostly been composed of palace guards and they simply weren't trained or experienced to handle a situation like the one with the desert scarabs. But it was my hope that the ones that had survived had gained enough experience to remain calmer in the battles that were ahead.

Maria walked up beside me with her men in formation behind her also. Ahmad was in her group and his eyes scanned the eerie blackness as we entered the infamous tomb. I watched him out of the corner of my eye for several moments, there was definitely something bothering him. True, he had been extremely jumpy in all the time I'd known him, but it was as if he were actually expecting a death blow anytime now. His movements were extremely cautious, like a mouse leaving its burrow for the first time ever. I seriously wondered why Ahmad had chosen to become a mercenary to begin with. From what I knew about his personality and the way he handled himself in the field, it didn't seem like he had the stomach for it or a tough hide like all the rest. The lifestyle of a mercenary just didn't seem to suit him. And then there was that business back at Lysanders'. I had no idea what was going on. I guess he felt me looking at him, his eyes locked on me for a moment and a questionable expression came to his face.

"_He wants to talk to you. I'd do it because he's acting extremely odd,"_ came the entirely psychic voice of Maria that I'd heard only once before. Her mental contact with my mind lasted a fraction of a second, even less than before and she said nothing else, even when I attempted to mentally ask her for more information. She kept her eyes straight ahead of us and didn't physically make any sign she had done anything. That's when I remembered what she had said back in Elzix's shop. She rarely used her gift, for some unknown reason. Maria had a rare talent, of that I would say. I can read the minds of others sometimes if what they are feeling is strong enough or I'll have random access to some strong memory, but I can't control what I see. And I am not telepathic in the sense I can initiate conversations with others. I can respond, but I cannot open that pathway to begin with myself. Someone else, a true telepath is usually the only one with that ability. And those are rare even among Rogues and Amazons.

I put those questions aside for now; perhaps one day she would trust me enough to tell me more. I decided to act upon what had been said. "Cassus," I said, directing a man that introduced himself to me earlier from my squad, "Take point, stay behind Maria. I will be right back," I directed. The mercenary eyed me uncertainly for a moment, but didn't choose to question me. He moved to fill my position as I walked over to Ahmad.

"Fall back, I want to talk to you," I said casually as he eyed me strangely. "Let the others go in front," I added.

We waited until the others had passed, albeit they gave us questioning glances. I placed myself beside Ahmad. Not wanting to get too far away from my men should Scorpious issue a battle command, we began walking in front of Piricus and the saber-cats at the rear of the human group.

"What's going on? Myself and some of the others have noticed you acting odd," I began, cutting straight to the point.

Ahmad sighed heavily, and for a moment he didn't reply.

"This is serious. If you need to stay something, now is probably going to be your only chance. We don't know everything that is down here and we could be called to battle any second," I admonished. That much I knew was true and all too well. We didn't have time for him to be keeping secrets. If he needed help now was the time to ask for it, before chaos ensued.

He looked at me ruefully. "I do not mean you any disrespect with my silence. The matter that's bothering me is a very personal one and I do not feel I can share it in good confidence," he answered.

"Come out and say what you have to say. Whatever is troubling you is affecting your fighting skills and can get you or someone else killed if you're distracted," I said with a voice becoming slightly snappish. I hadn't intended to sound so harsh, but the truth of the matter is we didn't have time for this.

Ahmad frowned. "I want you to do me a favor, Chyemme. You and the rest of your friends, I would especially ask it of the good paladin if he agrees," he began hesitantly. "And before you except, know that it is no small request," he added solemnly.

I nodded. "I will help you in any way I can and I'm sure if Scorpious were listening back here he'd say the same," I affirmed. "We vanquished Radament on Atma's request, and that was no small thing either," I assured.

Ahmad seemed satisfied with this; he mumbled something and then nodded to himself. He reached into his shirt and pulled out a pendant on a thick leather strap from around his neck. He rested it on his chest for a moment, allowing me a brief glance. It looked like an indigenous dream-catcher of sorts in the center; it had some type of shimmering coppery wire weave that seemed faceted in some places attached to a wooden framework of some redwood variety. The framework holding the wire lattice was shaped like an oval with pointed ends. At the bottom end pointing towards the floor were three intensely vibrant bird's feathers positioned one next to the other and slightly overlapping. One was an eye-popping magenta, the other was a royal peacock blue, and the last was a resonating emerald green, the same color as Piricus' eyes. There was something odd and intangible about the feathers as I eyed them, they seemed to possess some type of magical properties, but they weren't giving off anything distinct. The necklace was settled right over the center of his upper chest, the place he had been favoring all this time.

"What is that? How long have you had it?" I asked in keen interest.

"It's a family heirloom, and I've had it the whole time you've known me," Ahmad said quickly and quietly.

"What type of feathers are those?" I asked further.

Ahmad shook his head. "I am uncertain," he said, though something about that statement didn't strike me as true.

"You should let Cloudyous look at that," I added.

He shook his head and tucked the pendant back in his shirt, hiding it from view. "Lady Amazon," Ahmad began respectfully, "If I die in this upcoming battle, I want to you take this pendant and give it to my cousin Xialah. I do not suppose it will be easy, I myself haven't seen her in three years and I do not know precisely where she is. The last I saw of her, she was around the town of Jintiri, it is a village on the seaboard, in the eastern jungles. Please, if I die, she must know what happened to me and she will want to have this. I'm the only family she has left," he said in utmost sincerity.

I was just as sincere in accepting this favor. I had a feeling that deeds like these were what kept some spirits from eternal rest. "I will. You have my word," I vowed.

Ahmad nodded in gratitude. "Thank you."

I had just enough time to shove him out of the way as a large shadow flew through the air towards us emitting a sonic-sounding screech. It sounded very much like an enraged bat and as our group cast torchlight on these newcomers, it was revealed to be exactly what they were. A tan-colored bat the size of a large bobcat poised its clawed feet in a position to grab my head. I turned my back to the bat quickly pulling Ahmad with me. Its primal claws swiped my shield on the initial pass. In an amazing display of acrobatic skill, the bat rolled in the air in a vertical dive and doubled back for another pass at us. This time the creature was more like an arrow, it tucked its feet into its body and stretched out its neck. The bat opened its mouth and screeched a sonic cry, keeping its mouth open to display all of its foot-long fangs. The bat swooped in again, this time aiming for my face with its teeth.

I steadied a javelin and threw it aimed directly for the oncoming beast. The projectile soared through the air and I thought it was going to impale the creature head-on, but it swerved expertly at the last second and continued towards me on the way to attack. I yielded aside and the creature clamped down on my armored pauldrons with the force I would expect from Gaia. I was roughly jerked sideways and then I actually felt my feet leave the ground. I was violently twisted from side to side and my right hip was slammed hard into the stone tomb wall. The bat that had attacked me was shrieking vehemently in my ear and its shrill cries were so sharp my own ears began to ring painfully. Something furry hit the side of my face roughly; the miniature hairs were like sandstone across my skin. The rough texture scrapped away a small amount of skin just above my left cheekbone, and I could feel the hot essence of blood begin to ooze there. I tried to turn my head as best as I was able, and from what I could see, when the desert bat bit my armor, two of its enormous teeth had become lodged in the metal.

I grabbed the creature's large wing that made to batter me again in one hand and with the other I reached for my sword. The creature, already enraged by the accidental entanglement, retaliated even harder upon my attempt at restraining its wing and thrashed powerfully upwards, dragging me with it. The bat was strong enough to actually drag me into the air about three feet and I hastily abandoned my attempt at restraining its wing; we were so close to the ceiling if I hadn't let go, it would have crushed my hand between its body and the ceiling.

I had been able to reach the handle of my sword with my right hand and I made to yank it from the sheath, but that attempt quickly came to naught. The bat surged to the left and flung my entire body into a wall to the right. The jarring force of the impact knocked the sword, sheath and all from my belt.

I cursed and quickly tried to think of another way to dislodge the animal from my armor. I couldn't reach my javelins or my shield. In fact, with the way I was being thrown around, I couldn't really reach anything. It was all I could do to keep the erratic creature from throwing me into a wall or other hard surface. I reached for the clasp of my armor and fumbled clumsily with the buckle, but it was secured too tightly for me to be able to undo it while moving in such a fashion. That's one thing I never, ever skip time doing, armoring up the right way. That's the first lesion any fighter learns, never take shortcuts when preparing for combat, it would always come back to bite you.

This creature needed to stop moving so quickly. If I could slow it down even a fraction, then I could definitely pry it loose. I needed someone to distract it for me, or maybe Cloudyous might have had a suggestion. I called out his name but my voice was drowned out by a sea of shrill screeching. Beating wings filled the air with their thunderous flapping. The distressed cries of the one caught in my armor must have stirred a large group that had been resting in the darkness nearby. I heard voices over the commotion as the unit commanders attempted to restore a sense of order.

Everything that was happening seemed to last for several minutes instead of the seconds they were in actuality. When you're being tossed around like a ragdoll in a dog's mouth every movement seems like it should disrupt mountains.

A bat hit a wall next to me and left a significant crack there. It fluttered stunned, and minus one wing to the ground. I heard Alminus' battle roar above the din. That was one thing about my barbarian friend I admired greatly, his sheer strength and his skill at unarmed combat. I knew by looking at the bat he had just maimed that injury had come from his bare hands. I thought briefly that when I got out of this situation I would ask him to perhaps teach me some of the moves of the barbarian tribes in hand-to-hand. That was what was going to get me out of this situation, hand-to-hand, because at the moment I had absolutely nothing else. If I could get the creature's neck, then maybe I could go from there. The first step would be taking this creature to the ground. I grabbed a flailing wing roughly as close to the base as I was able and yanked roughly down.

The movement seemed to make the bat falter for a moment. I twisted my body in the air and threw my full weight against the creature from the side closest to myself. As I thought, I at least weighed more than the creature and my weight combined with the downward motion I slammed into it with and the tork in that direction on the creature's ensnared neck effectively dropped us both from the air. I came down hard on top of the creature and it gasped feebly, out of breath as I pulled my full bodyweight onto it. I pinned both my armored knees into the creature' sides in an attempt to keep it from becoming airborne again. The bat tried to roll, but I moved with it, so we ended up merely rolling a circle over each other on the floor.

"Hold still, Chyemme," Ahmad said to me as he raced to my side with his halberd at the ready. His eyes followed the bat's movements as he attempted to take aim.

I rolled my eyes, that was certainly going to be easier said than done. "Tell that to him," I said through gritted teeth as I shoved the bat hard with the shoulder it was attached to into the dusty flooring. It wriggled tremendously and I grappled with the beast on the ground for a few moments before rolling onto my side and using every muscle fiber I had to press the animal into the floor.

"Do it now!" I hissed as I struggled to hold the large animal.

Ahmad pulled his halberd back with both hands in preparation for a powerful thrust, but for some reason someone grabbed his arm. Being too busy to see much above waist level, I had no idea who it was. I strained my ears to hear something, but I couldn't make out anything distinct above the enormous noise.

"What are you waiting for?" I cried incredulously. The bat writhed against my body and I cried out in pain as a talon on its feet impaled my left arm above the elbow and conveniently right above my bracer. The pain wasn't the worst I'd ever endured, but it was a significant distraction and enough for the bat to get the upper hand. It flailed its wings and managed to flip me to my side before gusting a substantial amount of dust into my face.

I coughed, unable to see or breathe. A loud sound echoed through the tomb like a metallic gong. The sound was soon after followed by another, then another. The sound of boots hitting the floor and reverberating metal off of metal became a cacophony of noise. It took me a minute to realize, but the bat in my grasp had quit resisting me, and it seemed horribly confused. Its wild, amber eyes moved from side to side frantically, as if trying to figure out this new occurrence. I used the new distraction to grab its head, hold it straight, and then pry its fangs swiftly out of my armor. I hastily returned to my feet and grabbed a javelin from my back to finish the stunned creature off while the noise persisted.

"Use your svradrath, lioness Chyemme," Nira said from behind me, loud enough to be heard over the thunderous noise. I turned to see her with my crystal sword in her furry hand-like paw.

"Why not the javelin?" I asked quickly, though I took her advice and retrieved my weapon from her grasp.

"These bats emit an electric charge through their bodies. You would kill yourself if you struck them with something metal," Ahmad said as he approached me from the side.

"Your svradrath is made of crystal, lioness. You will not be harmed if you kill this creature with it," Nira promised with a nod. "Hurry now," she added.

I almost felt guilty about striking the creature, after all it was helpless and for some reason, it didn't seem to be able to sense anything going on around it for all the noise. Other than being large, the creature didn't look demonic; it still had a sandy brown fur and normal-looking wings as far as bats went. It was my understanding that bats were usually peaceful and only attacked if startled. I felt guilty that perhaps as our large number entered here, we startled them to attacking and I wondered if we could have found a way to avoid this scenario. I truly didn't wish to kill a naturally peaceful creature that had attacked merely out of fear.

A drop of blood fell from my cheek and landed on the ground next to the animal, and for some reason, it was able to sense that. It screamed loudly and tried to fly off from the ground as its nostrils flared and its head turned in the direction of the one, miniscule droplet of my blood. I could see the ravenous hunger in the beast, even in the near blackness. Suddenly, I didn't feel guilty in the least. It lunged forward and I sliced its furry head off with my sword in one stroke. Blue lightning surged through the bat's body and over the tip of my sword, but not being made out of metal, the weapon failed to conduct the electric current any further and it died on my crystalline blade.

I looked around and saw that those guards and mercenaries that held metal shields were pounding their various metallic weapons against them and that they were also stomping their feet upon the ground, causing intense vibrations of noise. The noise, I noted with interest, was what seemed to be crippling the monstrous bats. Several more of the creatures were rolling around in confusion upon the ground, crying feebly and attempting to right themselves in vain. For the most part, the saber-cats were the ones mainly dealing with these; they used their leathery barbed whips and wooden spears to finish the monsters off so they did not suffer any harm from their electrical charges.

I watched as Gaia the grizzly pinned down a bat beneath one gigantic paw, crushing it flat. Gaia was so massive that the electric shock she received upon its death must have felt like being tickled by a feather at best. Belthem was working with Sky and Midnight to dispose of one more. Each grabbed one extremity and they ripped the bat apart between them, dropping the creature's remains to the floor and avoiding the electric shock. I noticed Cloudyous' pained expression as he smashed the right wing of one bat into oblivion before sending its soul there also shortly thereafter.

The male saber-cat, Ketan grabbed the last remaining bat off of the floor with one massive, clawed hand and skewered his claws through its neck effortlessly. The creature died instantly and the charge did little more than light the darkened fur over his hands. Ketan took a bite out of the dead bat's left wing, chewing it in his massive mouth contently like some sort of jerky snack. Blood dripped from the stump into his mane as he ripped the other off as well and tossed the rest of the carcass to the ground.

"What's he doing?" I asked Nira in confusion.

"Gildrif wings are one of Ketan's favorite snacks, though he does not get to enjoy them often. The gildrif are actually rare over our oasis," she explained simply.

"Chyemme, are you alright back there?" I heard Ryelass ask as he came over from ahead in the tunnels.

"Fine," I said with a nod. I gingerly touched the abrasion on my cheek; it was still stinging, but it was only minor and was not bleeding anymore. The wound above my bracer was aching, but it wasn't bleeding either.

"Ahmad, come back into formation, Chyemme go back to your men," Maria commanded, apparently relaying a message from Scorpious.

I nodded and wordlessly made my way past Ahmad back to my squadron, all of which looked unharmed to my relief.

"What just happened?" the guard Captain, Rasheed asked adamantly to Cloudyous as he walked by.

Cloudyous still wore a mournful expression on his face, but he was solid in his answer. "These bats are supposed to be extinct," he said simply. "They're called Dratania in Scosglen and they are very old. I've never seen one before now, obviously. They're supposed to be herbivorous and feed only off desert cacti and sagebrush flora, but well— you know the rest. That's obviously not the case here," he said simply with a sense of true remorse.

"Save the zoology lesson druid," Piricus said with a growl of displeasure as he removed a bone spear from the corpse of a bat that had apparently attacked him. "Anatomy would be a better lesson for everyone," he said bluntly, "These imbeciles have the aim of a drunken bilge rat and couldn't hit anything vital if their lives depended on it," he added nastily, giving a palace guard nearby an icy glare. My guess was that he made some error that Piricus had to correct, or maybe he almost hit Piricus, I couldn't tell. The man looked away sharply and I didn't blame him. Piricus' eyes were extreme.

"These things are useless, even in death. Their skeletons are made of cartilage, and their brains are made of dust," Piricus continued sourly. "They're extinct for a reason. Much like rest of these morons are going to be soon," Piricus said sarcastically as he eyed the palace guard one more time and then flickered his gaze onto a corpse of a human mercenary nearby. A bat's body was lying atop it, still sparking feebly. I grimaced. It was one of Cloudyous soldiers. From the expressions on the faces of the rest of his men, my guess was that Cloudyous might have hesitated slightly when he saw what our opponents were, possibly have come to the same assumption I had before I realized these things were out for blood.

"These creatures don't see like we do," Cloudyous said simply. "They have a sort of sound-sense, which is the best way I can describe it. Noise blinds them like fire blinded the demons in the arcane sanctuary. If we encounter more, that is the quickest way to defeat them," he said bluntly before turning to take command of his group again. He gave the fallen man's body a painful look and Bibo did actually chirp a low note of mourning as well to mimic his expression.

"People come first," I heard Maria hiss in his ear as she moved her squadron with Ahmad present in it ahead of his. Gaia growled audibly with as close as Maria got to Cloudyous, but he waved his hand softly and settled her immediately. I could tell Cloudyous felt terrible; as a druid he was sworn to protect nature and when he found these bats that were supposed to be extinct and peaceful, my guess was that he couldn't help but want to preserve them. After all, they could have been the last of their kind. It was a costly sentiment not to want to wipe out an entire species, but if we failed in our mission, everything could be wiped out, including and most especially, the entire human race. We needed all the help we could get and so human beings in this case would definitely prevail over any animal populace. That being said, Cloudyous wasn't heartless about people either, I knew this to be true as well. The loss of this human life was going to be difficult for him to deal with on top of the potential genocide we had to deal upon the desert bats.

"How many people did we lose?" I asked Alminus as he moved into position with his men beside me as best he was able.

My barbarian friend sighed grimly. "Well, I think jus' tha one 'n Cloudyous' group. Apart from tha' one I really don' think anybody got hurt," he answered. "Well, not big time 'nyway," he added apologetically looking at my cheek and arm. His eyes wandered from my injuries to gaze on a scratch he had received in his own shoulder. "Wicked 'lil devils," he grumbled. "Talons li' razors," he added and I noticed that the leather strap he usually wore across his muscled chest had been sliced in half and there was another scratch, though more superficial underneath where the strap had been originally. The two severed ends of leather hung limply by Alminus' side and swished across his thick skin as he moved.

"Bandage up now if you can," one of the mercenaries in Alminus' group relayed to us as someone from the front passed the news on, "Your paladin friend has commanded we move on."

"Here," Alminus said as he snapped the broad lower portion of the strap that remained off of his body effortlessly. "Lemme see tha side o' yur face," he offered kindly and made to wipe the blood away.

"It's nothing," I said in earnest.

"She's right. It's nothing compared to her arm. Let me see that," Ryelass said from my left side. He took the bandage and before I could protest, he started to wrap my injured arm. "Sorry we don't have time for any padding," he apologized, "this will at least keep the dust out," he said softly.

"Dust is the least of my worries," I said comically.

The leather underside of his chainmail glove brushed over the top of my elbow as Ryelass finished bandaging my arm and gently brushed the side of my face with his hand, surveying my injury for himself. His hand lingered over my cheek for a brief moment. He pressed his palm against my chin as his fingers brushed a strand of my sweaty, blonde bangs out of my injury. I noticed grimly that the tips of my hair were tinged with blood. Ryelass' hand seemed to linger on my face for a moment and I was starting to get an oddly uncomfortable feeling.

"I could have done this myself," I said somewhat awkwardly as I pulled away from Ryelass' touch. I looked up for Laurella; I had an odd feeling that she was watching this and for some reason, my stomach tensed. Ryelass looked at me oddly, so I tried to put it aside. "But thanks just the same," I added in gratitude.

"No problem. We look out for each other," he answered, but a bitter look suddenly crossed his face as he looked at my injuries and then at Cloudyous somewhat irately.

"Don' get ter worked up o'er it," Alminus said as he followed Ryelass' gaze. "E' didn' mean fur it ter happen, ya know that."

"That's questionable," one of my men behind me, Jared, growled. "He hesitated to strike that monster, I saw him."

"It's the truth," I snapped harshly, coming to Cloudyous' defense. "He knows what's at stake and maybe he was just startled. The fact is he told us how to kill these things. Without him, things would have been much worse," I reprimanded.

"You could have died yourself," Jared persisted, "I saw that animal knock you over, amazon," he added with a slight amount of insubordinate attitude.

"Mind your mouth palace punk," Ryelass barked at him sourly. "This amazon saved your ass from a scarab, don't forget that, and right now she's your commander so show some respect," he said dangerously, as if daring the man to argue that point. Jared fell immediately silent, though the look he gave Ryelass was steely.

"We look out for each other as much as we can," I added diplomatically. "Even when they're showing us attitude," I rebutted to him myself with a slight fire. "Right now Scorpious is in command and he said move out. I'm going to add silently to that order," I added bluntly and assumed my position with my group and Alminus and Ryelass flanked me with their men. Jared gave me a nasty look in reply, but he didn't speak anymore. Our procession started moving again, and it wasn't long before the tension of impending danger put any ill-will he may have had aside. The tomb of Tal Rasha was massive. Once we moved beyond the original entrance halls, the corridors had become vast; so much so we were easily able to walk side by side in groups of five. The whole place was deathly silent as well, something odd for our group. I expected Piricus to have said something if he was hearing any undead voices, but he was silent like everyone else. We came to an expansive chamber flanked by two rough sandstone pillars. Ahead of us, there were three large panels of wall and in our torchlight I could see some odd, picturesque writing upon them. The pictures formed a sort of hieroglyph of art and wedges, the language of those long gone. None of it made any sense to me. Each door was at a different direction and obviously led to more doors beyond those.

"Which way?" I heard Scorpious say to Vendra.

"I don't know," she answered, looking from door to door carefully.

"Does anybody know what those doors say on them? They might be some type of clue," Captain Rasheed said from Maria's group, eyeing the ancient symbols in the dim light.

"They are merely a warning," said one of the three lead mercenaries that had called himself Vill.

"They say that death and an ancient curse will follow all who pass beyond these gates," said one of his brothers, Zyn.

"How is it that you read this language?" Maria asked them bluntly. "It's dated before the Horadrim 200 years ago."

"We don't," Vill answered her sarcastically, "It says it in ours right above the doorway."

"Well that's convenient," Ryelass growled.

"What does the staff tell you?" Laurella asked, turning to Sovellis.

He shook his head. "I no sure," he replied in earnest.

"This is rich," Piricus snarled. "We're lost."

"Not so, master Necromancer," Nira replied respectfully. "Master Ketan says that he is familiar with some of these symbols. He will translate them as best he is able," she answered.

"And how is it that they can do it when the Horadrim were all human?" Captain Rasheed asked hotly.

"Ours is an ancient race, firha. We surpass you in many ways, age is merely one of them," the bronze she-cat named Gyra said rudely.

I could see Rasheed about to reply to the insult, but Maria silenced him sternly. "I like Chyemme's recommendation of silence. We should all observe it, even the Frasa. Don't speak unless it becomes absolutely necessary. Chances are we'll draw the attention of something else."

"Wise words for a firha," Gyra grumbled irately, which evoked a displeased growl from Ketan. Gyra silenced herself obediently as Ketan's orangey cat-like eyes scoured the three walls for a moment. He spoke precisely to Nira in their odd, guttural sounding language. Nira turned to Piricus.

"Master, Ketan says that these symbols depict things that lie beyond. He says to our left is a chamber of greth agarm, which we encountered earlier. To the right he says there are what you would call traps and he says the center simply describes those which have returned," she translated.

"None of them give a direction, do they kitty-cat?" Piricus asked irritably.

"No, master. But those are simply what is written," she answered politely.

"Then any way we go there will be another battle?" One of the palace guards in Ryelass' group asked with distaste.

"It would appear so," Nira said simply.

"We need to chose the lesser of the three," Laurella said truthfully. "Which can we traverse faster?"

"Scorpious, this is your decision," Maria said simply.

"Yours and master's," Gyra corrected snappishly, displaying several of her large fangs when she spoke.

"Nira," Scorpious requested, "Ask Ketan his opinion please."

Nira immediately turned to Ketan and translated Scorpious' request. The two sounded like they were having a disagreement about something if their tone was any indication and it wasn't long before Gyra was talking as well. I scanned the room we were in carefully, seeing if I could find anything else of consequence. There was nothing but dust and sandstone. Nothing about this tomb was distinguishable from any other we'd encountered. I said an inner prayer to Zerae. We needed an answer swiftly. Deep in my heart I had a sinking feeling that we might already be too late.

Almost upon the second my prayer ended my inner sight twinged and apparently, so did Laurella's. She and I shared a glance between us and oddly enough, we both walked over to the same large pillar in the left corner of the empty room.

"You feel it too?" she asked me, more as a reaffirmation than a question.

"Yeah," I assured and she and I began to circle the large pillar in different directions. We met in the middle on the opposite side. "Anything?" I asked dubiously. I hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary on my search.

"Nope," she said truthfully. "But there has to be something. We're both drawn to it," she added. "Chyemme," she began grimly, "do you think that you could track . . . .Diablo? You know, where he went by his energy pattern?" she almost whispered.

I cringed, and I felt that familiar dread well up in my chest. "I don't think so," I said, though that was only a half truth. The real truth was I probably could retrace the monster's steps if they were fresh; I wouldn't lie the energy was one of a kind and extremely distinct. But the other part of the matter is that I was afraid to. I didn't want to be exposed to that energy or even risk connecting to it purposely, even for a moment. And, like I've said before, my inner sight, when it shows me memories is completely and utterly random.

Laurella studied the pillar in front of us one more time. "I know there has to be something. When we both sense it, there always is something," she insisted. I heard Ketan say something to Gyra in a harsh tone, it was apparently something she didn't like. She managed a half-roar and then kicked the wall next to herself with extreme force. That force rumbled the entire old, musty wall and even rippled into the ceiling. Dust and other earthy debris fell off the roof in a small shower of sediment, jarred loose. The dust rippled into Laurella's face, whom was still looking skyward, studying the pillar. Her nose wrinkled, then she pulled her head back and sneezed violently. The fluids associated with the sneeze and the force of air landed on the pillar in front of us and in a disgusting display of snot and spit, the grime washed away in speckles. Luminescent white lettering became apparent in the area Laurella's sneeze had washed away. I hastily brushed the remaining layers of dirt away to reveal one single word, written in some odd language.

"What does it say?" Laurella asked curiously as she wiped her nose on her sleeve.

"No idea," I said in earnest, "but Vendra, Sovellis, or Maria might now. The way it's glowing, it had to be made by magi." I answered. "Hey Vendra," I called over, silencing everyone, including the saber-cats and Scorpious whom were conversing urgently, "What does this say?"

Vendra looked up at me from where she had been standing beside Sovellis. Both of them started over immediately.

Piricus, whom was much closer, also came to look. "Don't bother magi," he said bluntly. "I know what it says," he said plainly.

"Well then, what is it, jackass?" Vendra said with a scowl as all eyes turned to us.

"It says 'Here'," he answered matter-of-factly.

"What's the supposed to mean?" I asked him in confusion.

"Hell if I know," Piricus said bluntly.

"You read it wrong, jackass," Vendra said with an amused look. "It's Ulderian, and it says 'down- here'. The word's pronounced 'Ildan', it means—"she said snobbishly, pronouncing the word. I didn't get to hear the rest of what she said. The second she said the strange word the ground seemingly evaporated beneath Laurella and I's feet. We had been standing at the base of the pillar one moment and then the next we were plummeting through dark, musty space. I landed butt first on something solid and unfortunately, Laurella landed directly on top of me, or at least some part of her did. We both groaned miserably. I made to move, but it was pitch dark in the space we found ourselves in. I craned my head in the direction I thought it was we had fallen from and I could vaguely make out a flicker of light at the top of whatever hole we had fallen through. I thought someone said something, but it was like a whisper of an echo.

"Chyemme?" Laurella squeaked uncertainly from somewhere close.

"I'm here," I admitted with a tone of irony. I had absolutely no concept of where I was.

"Do you think you can move a little to the left? You're crushing my foot," she said apologetically.

"Let me see," I said in my own manner of discomfort, feeling around in the darkness with my left arm next to me. I didn't feel anything in the immediate area so I flopped my arm in every direction it would go. "I'm going to have to say no. I don't feel anything," I replied in earnest. "Do you feel anything over on your side?" I asked in discomfort.

"I can't feel anything but your armor," she admitted slightly impatiently. "Chyemme," Laurella began.

"Yeah?" I replied bluntly.

"Why are we always the ones falling through stuff?" she asked sarcastically.

I managed a sour laugh at the remark as pain pulsated through my injured arm. "I don't know. You'd think we could see it coming," I said sarcastically myself.

"I wish," she said grouchily. Light suddenly flooded the area, coming from glowing symbols on the walls around us, much like the ones on the pillar above us had been. The words on the walls flowed together and seemingly formed a word picture, one of a swirling river with curling tendrils of water. I looked around. Laurella and I had landed on one of the bottom steps of some hidden staircase. A good thing for us too, was the fact we landed in the middle of the steps. About three feet to the left was a severe drop off into still more blackness below.

I heard a loud rumble from above us, it sounded like heavy stone sliding across the floor. The ceilings off to the side of the staircase trembled under the pressure and a dusty mist did come from the cracks of the tiles in the ceiling. My inner sight sparked to life as I felt nearly thirty distinctly different life forms rush into the room above us. The energy held a strong trace of magic, like before in the canyon. There was no doubt in my mind; somehow we had unleashed more scarabs. I heard a very loud cracking sound, like bones being broken and realized that there must be some sort of skeleton force present above as well.

Laurella turned to me with a morbid expression on her face. "I think the chambers beyond the one we were in just in opened," she concluded, a valid theory in my opinion, "But I don't know why that would happen," she added grimly.

"When Vendra opened this passage, it must have sprung some sort of trap," I said, stating what I thought was probably the most accurate scenario.

"We need to get up and help them," I said stoutly and she and I hastily detangled ourselves from each other and returned to our feet. We gathered ourselves and were running up the staircase to join the fray when out of nowhere, the entranceway that had opened above resealed itself. The illumination from the wall depictions remained, so we weren't in total darkness, but the area did dim significantly. I grabbed my crystal sword from the sheath and Laurella readied her bow as we heard footsteps thunder down toward us.

Several large shadows surfaced along the dim walls and by the time I realized it was Scorpious I had almost struck him. Luckily for me, he was expecting some sort of attack as well and hastily blocked with his own blade. One thing I would also say for Scorpious was that he had a strong arm. Vendra came down the stairs almost immediately after and used a fireball in hand to cast more light around us.

"Chyemme?" Scorpious asked uncertainly.

"That's certainly what it looks like paladin. That's kind of sad really. Now you get to add vision to your list of physical challenges and I haven't done a thing," Piricus remarked casually from somewhere further up the staircase.

When he could see clearly, Scorpious hastily withdrew his sword with an apologetic glance. "My apologies," he said sincerely, "we couldn't see where you'd gone."

"Me too," I admitted truthfully to my paladin friend. "No harm done. What happened?" I asked, squinting to get a glimpse up through the staircase and see how many people were present.

"We open trap door," Sovellis answered. "But bad news be we open all three in front too," he continued.

"All the creatures from the rooms in front all flooded into there at once," Vendra said grimly.

"Tron is up there with those demon allies of yours fighting them off," came the voice of the mercenary brother, Vill.

"We are not arja, firha," came guttural growl from the female saber-cat Gyra. "In fact, we show more civility to each other than you do," she added fiercely.

"Where's Nira?" I asked, noting her absence almost immediately, mostly because she didn't counteract her comrade's harshness.

"Up above with master Ketan. Unfortunately for you, she didn't make it down your firha contraption before it closed. So I will be in charge here until the rest of my pride can join us. There are twelve of us here, firha. Let's get moving," she said harshly to Scorpious.

"Kitty-cat, I don't care if you address the paladin that way, but if you wish to retain your ability to speak, you won't use that lingo on me," Piricus said curtly, but fell silent afterwards.

Gyra growled loudly, bordering on a snarl, but said nothing. I saw the dim light glint off of the end of one of her claws which she was wiggling irritably. I started to say something, but as usual Scorpious counteracted the situation swiftly.

"Lioness, we will be as respectful as possible, but in turn you must be also. I'll ask you to honor Ketan's agreement in his stead. We must continue on as swiftly as possible," he said simply, and moved back into position at the forefront of the group. "Vill, please organize your mercenaries. Rasheed please do the same for the palace guards," he added.

"Does 'ny one have an idear where we're at?" Alminus asked gruffly as I heard him shift his massive body around behind me.

"Chyemme, Laurella?" Ryelass asked us both at once.

"Warrior, seeing as how they both fell cluelessly down this hole, I'd say that answer is an obvious no," Piricus said snidely.

"I didn't ask you," Ryelass hissed irritably.

"He's right," Laurella said sorely. "I have no clue."

"Me either," I admitted.

"What are these markings? They're lit," the mercenary brother named Zyn asked as he ran a hand briskly over the dusty stone wall's surface, tracing the pattern of rippling light.

"They're energy maps," Cloudyous said from to my right as Bibo squawked in agreement.

"What does that mean to a common man?" Rasheed asked, slightly edgy. "We're not magi."

"They depict the way a certain spell is to be cast," Vendra said, eyeing the walls around us. "They're kind of like a cookbook in a way."

"What is this one for?" Rasheed continued uneasily.

"It hard to say," Sovellis answered. "But it obvious this recipe for great magic, important spell."

"That would be an understatement," Piricus said impassively as his eyes scanned the illuminated walls.

"Can a spell like this help us?" Ahmad's voice asked hesitantly from over in Vill's direction.

"One of you magi should look this over and see what it's telling you to do," Zyn, the third mercenary said frankly.

"What do you think, Maria?" I asked, looking around for my assassin friend. To my surprise she wasn't among the people present. "Where's Maria?" I asked curiously.

"Your firha skivish got trapped above with the rest," Gyra said plainly.

"Skivish?" Laurella asked oddly.

"It is a term more deserving of respect that what I would call most of you," she said rudely, locking her gaze mainly on Piricus.

"I don't have time for a linguistics lesson," Ryelass snapped somewhat harshly. "If we don't know what this is we need to move along," he added with a familiar urgency in his tone.

"Vendra, Sovellis, do either of you know what this is at all?" Laurella asked.

Vendra studied the wall intently for a fraction of a second, before a flicker of recollection passed into her eyes. For moments, it seemed like she was somewhere else. When she started to answer, Sovellis interrupted. Apparently, he had seen the same thing she had just experienced.

"This spell, it be one of binding. Great binding. This what was used upon demon Lord Baal," he said for her.

"And how do you know that?" Vill asked skeptically.

"Because I saw it," Vendra said quickly. "I was there," she added swiftly and without any further explanation she began moving forward.

"Vendra?" Scorpious asked her uncertainly.

"Sovellis and I have this pattern memorized; we examined it very thoroughly just now. If we have to, we can use it a second time," she said gravely.

"Just pray it not too late," Sovellis added grimly.

"This still leaves us not knowing where we are," Rasheed said, leery.

"You are here, imbecile," Piricus said grandly, gesturing around as we moved forward.

We walked several more feet, down the staircase. The moments passed without event and eventually we passed into a narrow entranceway that was only big enough to fit through one at a time. The light from the magical chart had faded several hundred yards ago and we were left in near total blackness. I strained my eyes, ears, and psychic senses into the darkness ahead, determined not to be caught by anything else off guard. I was straining so hard that I was startled when the Horadric staff in Sovellis' hands suddenly started flashing in rays of golden light. Balls of magical energy started to bounce into the air and after a moment, I could distinctly see shimmers of a golden metal with a hint of ruby red in the room beyond. After a few more moments, I realized that the staff and whatever this object was in the next room were resonating and forming a sort of location call between the two of them.

"We here indeed," Sovellis said with a slight tension in his voice. The staff had begun to vibrate furiously in his hands, so much so I was sure the weapon was about to become animate and walk away. The spheres of light came at increasing numbers and a more rapid frequency with every passing second.

"What's going on?" Scorpious asked hesitantly as his eyes followed the bounding gap between the two objects.

"The staff has found base. We here. The tomb here," Sovellis said stoutly. "Me know what must be done. Are we ready?" he asked loudly enough for everyone to hear.

"We frasa were born ready," Gyra said indignantly, and it was a sentiment that the human mercenaries and guards seemed to share, albeit more reluctantly.

I saw Vendra squeeze Sovellis' forearm gently in reassurance and as he looked to her, something, some vision passed between them. My inner sight only allowed me a brief glimpse and from what I saw, it appeared that Vendra wasn't the only one whom had been here before. Sovellis was also somehow involved. The mental contact between them had been brief, but powerful. Sovellis had an extremely stunned look on his dark face and his mouth was slightly open.

"You remember?" I heard Vendra whisper in surprise.

"Tin dinna, delanith," he said in an equally hushed voice, in his native tongue.

She blinked and a pained look crossed my sorceress friend's face. Sovellis however, turned forward with a much more gentle expression.

"It will no be as was before. I promise," Sovellis vowed powerfully. He lifted the beaming staff out in front of himself and walked through the open doorway by himself.

Vendra hastily followed after him. There were no sounds of struggle or danger in the moments that followed as we all hastily filed into the chamber after them. There was really nothing in the room when I entered save a large, raised dais in the center made of a subtle golden metal. The dais was circular and around all edges of the base and there were numerous, diamond-shaped rubies encrusted into the framework. Glistening pearly paint swirled in patterns away from the gemstones in all directions, but finally seemed to find some cohesive pattern near the top edges. At the top of the dais, all the swirls interlocked together around a small, circular keyhole. It was from the keyhole that the light flashes were emanating.

"What happens now?" I asked, though I had a feeling I already knew the answer. In my heart a feeling of terrible dread was beginning to resurface. We were very close. Very. I could feel it in the tips of my fingers and the soles of my feet.

"We return staff to proper place," Sovellis said simply as he walked up to the edge of the dais.

"And when he does, the tomb will open. I don't know where from, so be ready. Sovellis, come get your quarter staff from me when you're done," Vendra told him simply.

"Quarter staff?" Ahmad asked. "I thought he already has a weapon?"

"We're going to lose the Horadric staff we've created. It will be destroyed in the process of unlocking the chamber. It was designed that way so people couldn't just use it to go in and out as they please. This chamber was meant to be sealed forever so using this key to open it wasn't supposed to be a light affair. No, when it's open, it's going to stay that way. Pity, because we really could have used the aid of such an object like we did last time. Brace yourselves," Vendra said grimly.

Sovellis raised the glowing staff over the dais carefully, then placed it into the orifice and secured it with a twist. Like metal locking in a door, the staff clicked into place. The reaction was immediate. Every swirl on the dais came alive with a violent, yellow light. The light suddenly became three dimensional and became a mist. The mist swirled into a more solid vapor that quickly spiraled up and over the staff, engulfing it. An immense, magical energy that I'm sure even a regular beggar on the street could feel permeated through the chamber bounding around the dais at first, and then racing along all four walls of the empty chamber. The arching beams finally culminated in a blinding array of golden light that exploded from the dais and smashed hard into a left wall, knocking it clearly away and sending a tremble so strong throughout the whole infrastructure I wasn't confident at all that a cave-in wasn't about to occur. Dust, dirt, and stone lingered in the air for moments afterward in an opaque cloud. Everyone was tense, and everything was still as the debris settled.

I eyed the space that the staff had opened for us. It led into an earthy grotto that seemed surprisingly devoid of life and all energy except that of stone. Nothing stirred in the chamber, not even a rat or roach. Sky, Cloudyous' brown wolf sniffed the air questioningly, a feat that Belthem and Midnight mimicked. Gaia the grizzly was impassive, but there was something about her stance that was extremely agitated.

Ryelass was the first to regain himself. "Marcus, I'm coming," he said quickly and raced ahead without another word. Laurella had quickly come to place herself beside him and they seemingly entered the chamber together. Scorpious quickly followed suit, as did the rest of us, with every inch of our bodies on alert.

I was genuinely surprised when we all entered the chamber. It was large and spacious, and very vacant. Moreover, nothing attacked us when we came in. Like before, the only signs of movement were our own. All of us, including Gaia and the saber-cats had come through without being challenged. I stepped down into a pool of mineralized cave water that had dropped from the ceiling and the icy chill of the dark water crept into my boots. We sloshed water around as we trudged forward, still seeing and experiencing nothing.

"Is this it? Is this the tomb?" One of the palace guards asked skeptically.

I agreed. Something was not right. There wasn't any sign that anything at all had ever occurred in here, much less the binding of a demon Lord.

"Are we too late?" Rasheed asked quietly, speaking the grim fear upon all our hearts. "There's nothing here . . ."

That fear sank down into my boots as well along with the icy water. A small droplet of moisture fell from a stalagmite on the ceiling into the pool of water by my right foot. The sound was soft and seemingly innocent, but in the current situation, everything forebode something sinister. One droplet fell, then another with the sound of gentle rain. Seconds passed and still there was nothing. I opened my mouth to say something, but decided better of it. It seemed an unspoken agreement that we should uphold utmost silence at the moment.

_Drip . . .drip_ . . . more water fell from above into cave pools all around. The sound started to echo the beating of my heart and I could feel the pounding in my chest. The sound migrated into my throat and I could start to feel my own pulse. This was the quiet before the storm. I knew something was about to go horribly wrong. A grey mist, ever so subtle that it could have been mistaken for dust vapor began to creep along the floor, rising out from the pools of water. The grey mist swirled like leaves caught in the wind around our feet until the floor had been almost covered about an inch.

Gyra growled with a low guttural sound as she watched this occurrence, a gesture that Gaia the grizzly followed. _Drip . . drip . ._ more water. . .

"What the hell?" the mercenary Zyn hissed under his breath as he raised his polearm to a guard position. A droplet of water fell on one of his armored shoulder pads with a loud *_tink_*. The sound reverberated through the air and set my ears to ringing. A large glob of thickened gel-like substance promptly splattered onto his other shoulder. That wasn't normal. . .it looked like saliva.

We all looked up and my heart dropped into my feet. There was an enormous creature clinging to the ceiling between two gigantic stalagmites with many, insect-like legs. The creature looked like it could have been vaguely related to a centipede, it had several sets of short stubby legs protruding from a slug-like thick, yellow trunk like a maggot. Attached at the most forward part of this already grotesque trunk was a twisted, brown torso that was vaguely humanoid. The chest muscles bore some resemblance to a man, but the arms above it definitely weren't human at all. The creature's arms looked like enormous twelve-foot scythes on either side, there were no hands, only blades. The monster's head was circular around the top and yielded a razor-like spiked crest on top. The creature opened its large maw and another blot of saliva fell forward onto Zyn's upturned face. The creature smiled with its rows of razor sharp, two-foot fangs. It let out a rumbling sound that was unmistakably laughter.

"_**LOOKING FOR BAAL?"**_ it taunted in a gruff and horrid voice that sounded like two boulders having a wrestling match against each other. The creature released its hold on the ceiling and fell through the air like a ten-ton bomb landing on top of the hapless Zyn. Blood splattered everywhere and I heard the mercenary's armor crinkle like a tin can as he was literally crushed flat.

His brother Vill screamed, whether from shock or rage was impossible to distinguish. He hastily made to charge the demon. The hideous monster swung his right scythe effortlessly, though with the backside which held no blade. It turned out the monster didn't need a blade to be deadly. The enormous force of the blow alone instantly crumpled the mercenary's superior armor inward and he was impaled through his vitals with the fragments of his own protection. He was dead before his body ever hit the ground. The mercenary's body hit the far wall where we had entered and hit with such force that his corpse literally exploded, causing the rocks above the entranceway to cave in, effectively trapping us in this demon's chamber with no visible route of escape.

"Form your squadrons!" Scorpious yelled quickly, as he hastily took command. "You four, with me!" he said, instantly directing the remaining mercenaries under his orders. That was probably for the best, now leaderless and seeing two of their best fall without trouble had instilled panic into the rest, including Ahmad, whom raced to place himself between me and Alminus.

"Spread out!" he furthered, "Alminus, Rasheed go—" Scorpious began. He never got to finish his battle commands.

The monster's soulless black eyes locked onto Rasheed, whom had been closest to him as he tried to move his guards into position. It was a scene from a nightmare; in a blur of movement that I could barely register, the demon had surged forward and swathed a path through three men with one swing of his left arm. The pieces of their bodies littered the ground like diced tomatoes in a salad. Nothing, not their armor, nor their weapons had been even a deterrent for this monster.

True to having some experience in battle, Rasheed quickly brushed this aside and jumped for the cover of a cluster of stalactites by the wall. The demon's arm grazed the tip of his boot, tearing away the solid metal like it were wet paper, but it missed the flesh underneath. The monster wasn't discouraged and swung his other appendage downwards with the force of a small earthquake, shattering the limestone like brittle clay. One of the pieces had impaled Rasheed in the shoulder under his neckplate and he was bleeding profusely, though still conscious.

"Fire!" Scorpious shouted to all of us as he raced to help the fallen guard captain, whose blood was pouring into the watery pools in the earth. I pulled a javelin off my back and took aim along with everyone else. I concentrated on the strongest lightning spell I knew and my weapon sparked to life in my hand. I loosed my javelin as everyone else threw whatever weapons or spells they had on hand at this new monstrosity which could only be Duriel, the one they had been speaking of before in Lut Gholeign.

It was amazing to me that not one attack hit the monster. Like Andariel before him, this demon seemed to have a hide of pure stone, or at least, pure blubbery fat. Every weapon and every spell, even the ones that had been done in combination, hit and bounced off as if Duriel's hide where rubber.

"Piricus, can you weaken-?" I started to ask, assessing the situation swiftly.

Surprisingly, he was near to me when I turned around. "That was the first thing I tried, Amazon," he admitted, "albeit, I didn't put everything I had into it."

"Why the hell not?" Ahmad asked him in disbelief.

Piricus scoffed. "That thing has been blessed by the wonderful denizens of the underworld. It has more magical resistance than anything I've ever encountered before. I could pour all my mana into weakening it, knock myself out cold, and still do nothing. Amazon, the people that sealed this thing away and the imbecile that took Baal into himself in the first place were mages. It's only common sense that this thing would be impervious to magic," he said with his emerald eyes going steely as he watched Scorpious narrowly avoid a death blow that crushed a hole into the solid rock beside him. "The paladin needs to let that one go. He's going to get himself killed over it—not that that would be a surprise," Piricus added icily.

"It has to have some weakness," I said starting to concentrate on the situation at hand. "That just rules magic out then."

"Then it migh' be time fur some good 'ole fashioned melee," Alminus said determinedly as he watched the struggle as well.

"Nobody's that strong imbecile," Piricus said bluntly. "You want to get yourself killed, be my guest."

"Not alone we ain't," Alminus said truthfully, "but maybe together we kin der it," he finished, turning to look at the saber-cats, namely Gyra, whom was in front.

"It is doubtful that our claws or weapons will pierce the hide of this arja," she said with a snarl. "I don't believe we'd have any more success than you are, and I will not send my pride-mates to die needlessly."

"I can help with that," Cloudyous said as he came over, wolves and Gaia at his side. "I can teach you something that will make your claws stronger and I will go with you. We can use the tricks of nature," he said cryptically.

"Vagueness later, druid. Plain speak now," Piricus demanded.

Cloudyous nodded. "I'll teach you how to summon fire from your claws," he added. "It's very easy, even a youngling could do it," he encouraged swiftly.

"And how is it that a firha has such a gift to offer a frasa?" Gyra said dubiously.

"I am a druid of Scosglen. I can assume a partially animal form for small periods of time. I have done this before. Watch me and learn, we don't have time to waste. Scorpious needs assistance immediately," Cloudyous said, a firmness coming to his tone that I had never heard before.

"You command me as if you are a frasahif. Bold for a firha, but right now you are correct. Tell me firha, how is this done? Teach me and I shall show the rest," she agreed stoutly.

Cloudyous spent the next few seconds explaining the mechanics of some magic that I could hardly understand, but the good news was that Gyra seemed to understand it perfectly. She flexed her claws and in a blink, fire jumped onto them, seemingly a transaction from friction and heat in the air. She nodded crisply, and turned to her pridemates that had been watching intently.

Piricus scowled as he watched the technique spread. "Druid, for your sake I hope they don't turn around and use this little magic trick on us. You'll be the one I kill first," he said irritably.

"Scorpious!" Laurella yelled loudly in terror. While I'd been distracted, my paladin friend had found himself in a terrible predicament. He'd raced to Rasheed's aid and somehow managed to make it unharmed, but Duriel had him pinned down between the floor and his left scythe. The same couldn't be said for one of his men, Duriel used the right scythe to slice him cleanly in half when he tried to come to the rescue. Remarkably, Scorpious hadn't been crushed to death, but I could see the glow of his paladin defiance aura peaking out around the edges of the demon's enormous arm. Despite the holy magic, Duriel didn't seem to be affected in the slightest. On the contrary, he seemed to be waiting for Scorpious to tire which looked like it was going to happen quickly.

"Now's the time," Cloudyous said briefly. I watched as his primal magic passed through his body causing him to sprout brownish-silver fur in some places. His nose broadened and then protruded a fair way from his face. His ears slid on his head to a wider position, then became round and furry. His arms thickened to the size of young sapling oaks and the ends of his hands became monstrous claws of their own. The saber-cats stirred uneasily behind Gyra watching the final aspects of Cloudyous' transformation into a werebear. He flexed his bear claws and fire burst onto them. He roared loudly, a gesture Gyra and the rest mimicked. Gaia the grizzly bellowed a charge to action, and the wolves howled as Bibo screeched. All of them surged forward together after the monster.

"There has to be something we can do to help," I said quietly, feeling completely useless as I watched them.

"Yeah, we kin get in on tha action," Alminus said with a hearty grin as he hefted his axe into a striking position. Le's go help 'em," he said simply and charged after the herd of half-humans and Cloudyous' animal companions. I looked at the crystal sword on my belt dubiously, and Piricus laughed from beside me.

"You're beginning to develop some sense of limitation, or," he added sadistically, "you're just scared."

"I don't see you running to the rescue either," I shot back coldly.

"That's because right now, I'm waiting for the rest of the shit to hit the windstorm. Haven't you noticed that every time that suicidal idiot paladin charges into something headlong like this it never ends well? And, if you're smart, you've been watching the way this creature moves and the way it kills," he answered plainly.

"Why's that?" I asked, trying to clue in on whatever Piricus was picking up on.

"This thing's arrogant," he said simply, "the way it kills is with sheer force and it doesn't have a hint on reservation. Even now," he said, narrowing his eyes to watch as Cloudyous and his band arrived.

A she-cat jumped with flaming claws aimed for Duriel's eyes, followed by another on the opposite side. Duriel bobbed his head disinterested, causing the one on the right to fly over him harmlessly, but then turned his head into the second attacking frasa and skewered her through the abdomen with the horn on the top. Blood spewed everywhere as Duriel tossed her aside like a destroyed toy.

"This thing is not concerned in the slightest with how many of us there are, a strange thing for one demon," Piricus continued, "it's killing slowly, one at a time. It has to know that there is every possibility that the group will band together and strike at one time," he said icily.

"So what is your point?" Ahmad said with terror in his voice as he stood quaking beside us.

A grim realization hit me hard like a right hook to the face from a yeti. "He wants us to pull together like that. That thing . . . it's playing with us. It has some type of attack it hasn't used yet," I said quietly.

Piricus clapped his hands together sarcastically. "Bingo. And I'm not going to do anything until I see what exactly that is," he said cruelly while eyeing the struggling Scorpious.

"They'll all be killed! We need to pull them back!" I half shouted in panic, but my voice was drowned out by the chorus of roaring and feral snarls coming from the attacking saber-cats, animals, and even a few mercenaries. Duriel became coated in a blur of flames and fur; I couldn't see anything of the massive demon for all the beings attacking it. I heard a few grunts that sounded like they could have been the demon, but nothing definite. There were no sounds of death or extreme injury.

I choked on my own breath. Something was about to happen. For some reason my eyes wandered over to the saber-cat Duriel had just impaled. Her lifeless corpse stared at me through dilated golden eyes. Her blood was still leaking from the grotesque wound onto the ground. And where the droplets hit they became chunks of solid ice. I took an involuntary step back as her entire body suddenly froze into a crystalline statue from the inside out.

"Oh my Zerae . . . GET OUT OF THERE NOW!" I yelled in vain.

Through the mass of yowling and thunderous tumult of battle, one sound could be clearly heard. Laughter. Duriel's laughter. The sickly grey mist that had invaded the chamber earlier suddenly turned a pale blue hue and it immediately began to crystallize. Ice coated my armored boots and in only took a mere second for my right foot to be frozen completely to the floor. I thrust my javelin swiftly into the demonic ice, breaking free just in time to grab Ahmad and pull him above the mist onto a nearby cave rock. Piricus had moved similarly, and was standing on a rock to my right. I watched in horror as the mist, which oddly enough seemed to be coming from the area around Duriel washed over the mass of beings attacking him. Preoccupied with their battle, they'd be caught unaware. Some of the saber-cats that had been in the most direct contact with the demon froze immediately and fell the ground, shattering like the ice they had become. Others must have sensed the danger and tried to pull away, but they had seemingly lost a limb in the ice and clunked pitifully in their attempt to flee the demon.

I saw Scorpious use this distraction to actually slip out from under the edge of Duriel's scythe, using the ice that was forming on the ground as a form of leverage to propel his body loose. Duriel either didn't notice, or didn't care; he was too intent on his new prey.

Duriel used one of his stubby legs to actually trip a freezing saber-cat and when she fell her face fractured like a porcelain doll made from ice. I heard a wild bellow as Cloudyous tried in vain to help a she-cat next to him escape. Luckily, the ice seemed to be affecting him and his grizzly fur much more slowly than the frasa, whose fur must have been much thinner and he was able to move away from the scythe strike Duriel made, which ended the saber-cat's life. Unfortunately, when he backed away, he slipped on a patch of frozen mineral water and being half-grizzly, I guess his reflexes weren't very good. He fell into the blue mist with a loud thud. The demon ice swiftly covered his body, grizzly fur and all. He could do very little except watch the strike that was to be his doom.

The scythe of Duriel's arm fell and I was almost sure it hit him. Blood sprayed into the air, but the cry of the creature on the receiving end wasn't human. A pained howl rang throughout the chamber and I realized with a pain in my own heart that it was Belthem. He had taken the blow, or at least part of it, in Cloudyous' place. Duriel had him stuck on his scythe like a piece of meat on a kabob. My heart skipped a beat as I realized that Belthem was only stuck by his thick tail. There was still a chance to save him if we cut his tail off. I hefted a javelin into my throwing arm and took careful aim. This was very well one of the hardest shots I would ever have to take. They were trashing about savagely and if I missed by even a centimeter, I could kill Belthem instead of save him.

I was given a distraction by grace when the black wolf, Midnight lunged from a nearby rock into Duriel's face. He savagely ripped into the demon's skin, biting ferally at anything it could grab. It must have felt like a tick bite at best, but it did cause Duriel to pause in his rampage of flinging Belthem around. It was all I needed. I enhanced the javelin with a mild lightning, I knew Belthem's fur would insulate him and the heat would cauterize the injury when it severed. Years of training paid off in full when the javelin hit its mark effortlessly, severing the muscular and fluffy tail from the rest of Belthem. He fell with a loud and pained yelp, but luckily he landed on the back of Gaia the grizzly, which cushioned his fall.

Midnight was not as lucky as Belthem. Duriel head-butted him into a wall and the helpless wolf fell to the ground, stunned. Duriel smashed the animal's body with the pointy end of his scythe, stilling him forever.

I looked around desperately for Cloudyous, and found with relief that Alminus was working with Scorpious to haul his massive, frozen frame away from Duriel's rampage. Scorpious had developed a new aura, one that was pale white, but had a subtle blue glow of its own. Whatever this aura was, he had wrapped it around everyone in a ten foot radius of himself and it seemed to be keeping the ice at least momentarily at bay.

Piricus didn't move or turn to look at her as Gyra jumped out of the mist onto his rock beside him. Three saber-cats were carrying one more between them, as they made it to our safety as well.

"That was pretty pathetic for the upstanding reputation you gave yourself," Piricus said plainly.

Gyra snarled at him, but seemingly fought back her temper. "This arja is like nothing we've ever seen. It has khic that fills its body. This khic creates the ice you see and the ice comes from a point underneath its girth," she hissed.

"What?" Ahmad asked, as he looked at the scene before him. Having finished Midnight, Duriel had turned his attention to chasing down Scorpious and Alminus, whom were attempting to withdraw with Cloudyous to safety.

"Kitty here is saying the demon has gel inside his fat ass that he's excreting through an orifice on his underside that's converting this mist and water into ice," Piricus said bluntly.

"If you can somehow hit the orifice, perhaps the creature can be slain," Ahmad said quietly.

"True," Gyra said irritably, "but there is no way you will ever get to this arja's underside. Not with the combination all off frasa and firha combined here could we turn him to his side."

"Go under him then," I said, eyeing the icy vapor as it trailed out from Duriel's underside.

"And how do you propose this?" Gyra asked hastily as she smashed her tail into a cave rock, breaking some ice that had appeared there.

"Ice is water. Lightning conducts through it. We can send lightning through the ice and make him explode. We've done it before," I announced.

"You will need your firha mages," Gyra said briskly. "We have no such ability."

"That's our cue," Vendra said as she and Sovellis magically materialized beside me, with Laurella and Ryelass.

"Heard the plan?" I asked quickly.

"Yeah, zap him and fry him like a squid," Vendra assured.

"Ryelass can you use your lightning sword as well?" Laurella asked.

"Sure thing," he assured.

"One," I counted.

"Two," Sovellis continued.

"Three, aim for the ground," Vendra finished as all of us that had electrical energy shot the strongest spell or weapon we had into the icy mist. Surprisingly, Ahmad stepped beside us, holding his pendant in one hand. Lightning poured from it as well, which stunned me. He would definitely have to explain this to me later. And not just me it seemed. Piricus was eyeing him oddly as well.

Our combined lightning sent a charged current through the very air and in a blink; the lightning had entered the mist. Sparks flew in all directions as the lightning gained power and surged toward Duriel as one coalesced beam along the ground. I was disheartened as moments before impact; the entire beam diffused and fizzled into the ground, drawn down by some unseen force.

"I don't understand," I said, confused.

"Damn it," Vendra hissed. "I should have seen it before. This stuff in the floor is limestone. Limestone has a heavy amount of water in it, I remember because I was talking to Cloudyous about it on our way to Lut Gholeign and about water magics. The water in the limestone conducted the lightning down through the ground and neutralized it. There's no way that will work in here. This bastard picked a good place to battle," Vendra snarled.

"We have to do something!" Laurella squeaked. "Oh my God . . ."

Duriel had reached the group of scattered men around Scorpious and the others, and though Scorpious' aura was keeping them safe from the ice, they still had the size and strength of the monster to deal with. Duriel swung a gargantuan arm aimed for Scorpious. Alminus and Gaia shared a glance between them and it was as if they could actually speak. Both man and beast launched themselves at the side of Duriel's arm and together they managed to smash into it at the base and knock it off course. Duriel promptly backhanded them both with little effort and sent them both soaring through the air and into the grotto wall beside them. Both went limp and didn't move. Gaia had a serious wound on her back leg that appeared to be broken and Alminus was bleeding from a gash in his forehead where his temple had struck the rock.

Ryelass ran forward immediately, despite my attempts to stop him. He leapt from the rock into the mist and sprinted as fast as he could in their direction. Ice coated his boots with every step he took and he slowed considerably. He lunged toward a wall at the last second, swinging his sword. The lightning enchantment released a fine beam that ignited a spark along the wall that traveled in a line before exploding next to Duriel and actually blasting him backwards about an inch or so. Rocks started to fall from the ceiling along with a few stalagmites. One almost skewered Ryelass, but he rolled sideways and disappeared into the blue mist. The landslide lasted about five seconds, but it effectively put a barrier between Duriel and the others. I couldn't see Alminus, Gaia, or Ryelass anymore; they had all been trapped behind the landslide Ryelass had caused. Trapped. My mind decided on trapped. The alternative was a real possibility, but my heart dared not give that option leeway.

"What just happened?" Gyra asked with keen interest.

"The warrior probably squished himself and his friends," Piricus said with a snort.

"Not to the firha, to the rock," she corrected.

"I get it," Laurella said swiftly. "That's flint. The stone that's used to make fire. Lady Akara said it can be combustible sometimes. Let's find out. There's one right there," she said as she instantly notched her bow and fired a flaming arrow into a cave stone on Duriel's right. The entire stone combusted instantly and while the explosion did little good to harm the monstrous demon, a large chunk of stone did land solidly on three off his stubby feet and squished them flat. Duriel roared in pain as purple ooze started to coat the floor from his wound. Scorpious used this distraction to administer some type of potion to Cloudyous, whom rose from the floor in fury. Once Cloudyous was mobile, all of them hastily cleared the area and made their way through the mist to regroup with us.

"Are there any more of these stones?" Gyra asked, scanning the area.

"No," came the pained voice of Cloudyous as he shifted back into human form. "Flint is actually pretty rare this fare underground. "Where are they?" he asked with a tremor coming into his voice as Bibo flew through the air and landed on his shoulder and only the brown wolf Sky, returned to his side.

"One of your arja died fighting this creature, the other lost its tail and probably suffered the same fate," Gyra said coldly. "Your bear tried also to defend you and is probably dead also along with your vary large firha friend."

The look on Cloudyous' face was unreadable for a moment, before one of pure grief washed over him. The pain was present all over his features, and he started to shake. I watched in sorrow, knowing that these animals were like his family and as dear to him as my mother was to me. His fists suddenly clenched and I saw some of his blood drip from his hand, he was digging his own nails into his skin so hard in rage. The sadness had become fury.

"He will pay dearly for this," Cloudyous assured. "Starting right now." True to his word, the air in the chamber began to pick up and swirled violently around the chamber. I watched as the gale-force winds lifted heavy stone debris from Ryelass' landslide and carried them into the air effortlessly. With the precision of a maestro delivering a renowned symphony, Cloudyous directed the monstrous winds like hands and the sharp rocky debris began to pummel Duriel from all angles. The rocks did little more than batter him because he was so large; however the stray pieces were becoming dangerous to us. I ducked as a fist-sized rock barely missed my head.

"Cloudyous' it's not working, he's too big. You're putting us in harm's way, try something else!" Scorpious commanded quickly.

"Try dropping all of those rocks on him, druid, maybe you can squish all of us in one blow," Piricus snapped as a rock smashed into the wall beside his arm.

"Not a bad idea," Cloudyous snarled, a sound that I'd never heard from him in his human form. The whirlwinds all connected at a central point and as instantly as they had come, the winds faded and dropped about twelve tons of rock on top of Duriel's body. The demon turned sideways, narrowly avoiding one batch, but the other crashed into the top of his back. It wasn't enough. Twelve tons of rock did nothing to this behemoth.

Cloudyous chanted some spell and without warning the rock on the ceiling of the cave began to melt and become like lava. The molten debris fell like liquid fire, hardening when they hit Duriel's icy aura back into the rock that they had been before, however this time the weight was too much for Duriel to handle. A portion of his lower back burst open, spewing the same diseased purple gel. The gel exploded from his body with such force that it projected across the room and solidly coated all of us on some part or another of our bodies.

Demon goo hit my left leg and my armor frosted immediately from the contact. The armor froze, and then cracked as the unnatural ice spread over and up my upper thigh. The ice soon jumped to my right leg as well. The metal surrounding my body immediately froze together, immobilizing my lower half completely. I would have stumbled, but I was locked in place.

"Damn it," I hissed and tried immediately to chip away at the ice binding me, only to have my javelin freeze. I hastily dropped it, wisely avoiding having the ice spread to my arms which had exposed skin.

"Damn is exactly right," Laurella breathed. Her left arm had been hit hard with the goo, though luckily just over her bracer. The bad news was her arm was pinned against the cave wall and was becoming frozen to it. I couldn't turn around, but I didn't have to in order to understand the others where all pinned down in some way or another, including the saber cats.

"Druid, you're making the top of my list," Piricus growled irritably. "Right now you might actually pass the paladin," he hissed. I heard another hiss that sounded like crackling fire and out of the corner of my eye I saw that a being of pure flame, like before in the arcane sanctuary had appeared next to him and was trying to free Piricus' arms, which had frozen to the sides of his body. The creature appeared to be having success, albeit slowly.

"How're you doing that when your magi friends are failing?" Rasheed asked through gritted teeth from behind me. Apparently Scorpious had found time in the beginning of this battle to at least stall his injury.

"This is a different kind of fire," Piricus grunted as he squirmed inside of his icy confines trying to break them loose, though they were still spreading. "Make no mistake I'll be out of here soon," he continued through his struggle. "And when I do—"

"But not soon enough," I said morbidly. Duriel, seemingly indestructible, lumbered towards us, dragging his heavily injured backside along the ground, still oozing purple blood. He paid no mind to it, hellfire burned in his demonic eyes. He was through playing with us. He would kill all of us in one swing and we were helpless.

"Someone do something," one of the remaining palace guards pleaded.

"Don't beg for your life, firha. That would be a disgraceful end for all of us," Gyra said snidely from somewhere to my left.

Begging for your life . . .my mind wandered back to the arcane sanctuary and Vendra's struggle with the summoner. She had not begged for her life. She had been honorable, and brave to the end. The same couldn't be said for that little freak of a mage. An idea formed, and I knew it was ludicrous to even ask it, but if I didn't we would all die within the next ten seconds.

"Vendra, can you control him?" I cried desperately, as a numbing pain passed through my lower legs and ice spread to my waist.

Her reply was indignant at first. "Can I—of course not!" she huffed. "You think I'm crazy?"

It was Piricus who answered. "What's the holdup sorceress? If you can stop this thing do it. The assassin is conveniently not here at the moment," he spat.

"Jackass, honestly—" she snapped back.

"No, he's right," I encouraged. "If you can, do it. Or none of us will be here to talk much longer!"

"You're asking me to . . ." Vendra growled, though she fell silent. I couldn't see it, but my inner sight told me that she and Sovellis were looking at each other.

"Try, feisty one. This be our last chance," Sovellis said softly.

I could feel the dread coming from her in the moments that followed. "I'll try," she said in a pained voice.

I wasn't expecting what happened. I actually felt her spirit leave her body and could see her soul connect with Duriel in front of us. The demon thrashed violently as if he had been struck by lightning. The giant monster teetered dangerously on his small feet and stumbled into several walls, rocking them dangerously. More goo splattered everywhere, including onto us. My right shoulder pad frosted and the ice began to creep towards my neck. Piricus cursed loudly and I noticed one of his feet had frozen.

The demon raised his arm to strike us and I flinched. Vendra wasn't strong enough to stop this monster, it was obvious. The shadow of Duriel's scythe fell over us and I knew death was instants away. Perhaps it was the moment, but I had my last words on my tongue and I blurted them without thinking.

"Piricus, I lo—" I began, but an earth-rattling roar from Duriel drown me out and I didn't think he heard me. The monster's blade stopped mere inches from the two of us and the saber cats behind us. Duriel withdrew his scythe, and then was still.

"She did it," I heard Ahmad breathe.

"Good! Now just make him kill himself sorceress and hurry the hell up!" Piricus snapped.

Duriel's claw hesitated before it lifted into the air. The demon's arm began to quake and I feared for a moment that Vendra was going to lose control.

"What are you waiting for? Hurry!" Rasheed shouted.

A soft sound, almost like crying issued from the monstrous demon's mouth. I then realized the horrible truth about what had just happened. To control a demon was reverse possession. Vendra had possessed Duriel and if the demon died before she let go she would die as well. And if she let him go before he was dead, he'd kill us all immediately.

"Don't!" I screamed suddenly hysterical. "Don't do it! We'll find another way!"

"You're such a hypocrite, amazon," Piricus snorted.

"Piricus if she does—"I started in terror.

"She'll die," he said simply. "She knew that already. It was her choice."

"By Allah, that's not true, is it!" Rasheed asked, falling quiet himself, along with everyone else.

"It true," Sovellis answered in earnest.

"But then, won't you also-?" Ahmad interjected in shock.

"This true too," he said without hesitation. "But we know, she and me that this maybe happen. We speak about this before coming here. We make promise, she and I. We do what must be done. She and I- we are Horadrim. Are not we, Mai?" Sovellis said suddenly, and my heart wrenched. He did remember.

Duriel possessed by Vendra said nothing, but still didn't move. The scythe that was poised to take her life and his still dangled dangerously.

"_**I—I—'m sorry. Forgive me,"**_ Vendra croaked through Duriel's hideous demon voice.

"There nothing to forgive. And she also know," he began again tenderly, "She always know, that she queen of my heart. Not even death can change that. It okay, we go together and finish what was started. Do it now, svithrin taka, delanith," he finished lovingly.

"You're a fool," Piricus snorted to him.

"Be quiet," I reprimanded him harshly and I felt a tear slide down my cheek.

"Even grouchy necromancer Piricus have someone he die for. He know that," Sovellis said seriously. "Everyone do."

"She can't do it," Gyra said, though there was a strange tone in her feline voice. "One of us will have to make the strike."

"You don't have to do this, either of you," Scorpious said urgently.

"I will do it," Sovellis said, still with an overwhelming amount of love in his voice.

"_**Hurry. . ."**_ Vendra pleaded through Duriel. "_**I can't hold him much longer."**_

"Strike the side of the injury," I heard Laurella say meekly.

Sovellis must have had one arm free from the ice that was threatening to engulf him. He muttered the words and I felt a lightning spell form on his hand. I prayed hard. I prayed to anyone that would listen for a miracle. Things couldn't end this way. Not when they had just found each other again.

The spell never left Sovellis' hand. I heard a loud thud and in a flash, I felt Vendra's consciousness pass back into her own body.

"There are better ways, you know that," Maria's voice said coldly from behind us. I heard an extremely loud roar and realized that Ketan and the rest of our party that had gotten separated had reunited with us.

"Use these, I made them en-masse for this purpose," I heard Maria instruct someone and in an instant, we were all being defrosted. I turned around to get a glimpse of the situation. It appeared that Maria had knocked Vendra out cold and having done so, knocked Sovellis out as well.

"Assassin, you surprise me. Why not kill her?" Piricus asked grouchily.

"Hvan, move them out of the way," Maria ordered a mercenary beside her as she gestured to their limp forms. She ignored Piricus completely.

The male saber-cat, Ketan hastily made his way to Gyra along with Nira. They conversed briefly, apparently filling each other in. Duriel roared, shaking off whatever momentary paralysis he held in Vendra's departure.

"Kitty cat," Piricus said rudely, "You're late. You'd better be bringing me good news."

"Master necromancer, we believe we know how to defeat this arja. We ran into an ancient human book when we got separated," Nira announced.

"Great. What is it?" he demanded harshly.

"The only way to defeat this arja is to use his own magic against him, like what human of the fire hair did to the claw vipers," she relayed.

Piricus hissed in frustration. "And did you find a manual on how to achieve that?" he growled.

"Well, no," she admitted.

"Then how is that done?" I asked, more to myself than anyone.

"Carefully," Maria said as she moved into position behind me. "We need something to absorb the monster's ice magic then use it against him," she continued.

"Too bad about the Horadric staff," I mumbled.

"Indeed," Maria snorted. "We'll have to do the best we can with my katars," she said simply.

"Your katars? Wait, I don't get it?" I said truthfully.

"Made by mages, blessed by the Zakarum, and purified by the Viz-Jaq'Taar. They're about as close to Horadrim as you will get on this side of the century," she clarified.

"So what needs to happen?" Rasheed asked hesitantly.

"I need to get at the monster and I will need Scorpious' protective aura against his frost," Maria announced.

"And we will need to move, right now," I said somewhat sarcastically as Duriel made a lunge for the place we had all gathered.

" Assassin, how in the name of Trag 'Oul did all of you get in here anyway?" Piricus grumbled.

"We jumped down. Something caved in a portion of the roof in the corner, master," Nira said respectfully as all of us hastily dodged the massive scythe coming down around us.

"Scorpious, I need you to—" Maria called loudly.

"Already done," he said hastily as I felt his spiritual energies wash around us. The ice from the blue mist that was creeping up my boots began to recede, and after a few moments I was confident that I could move around in the mist without being harmed.

"We need to distract it," Maria announced. "It will likely take everyone we have left and we are going to lose a few people," she admitted.

"We've already lost a lot," I said grimly, looking at the slaughter scene the grotto had become.

"Ketan says we will lead the assault. Run and cower if you will, firha. We will see this through to the end. We will give you the time you need," Gyra announced.

"On my signal then," Scorpious commanded. He swiftly raised his arm to send us into battle. Everyone that was able charged the creature, including myself. The saber-cats reinforced by their male were true to their word. They charged fearlessly into the creature's midst. The humans, while much more reluctant did the same. Maria was right, we did lose a few more people and that was just in the first five seconds. The arm of a she-cat flew by my left ear and a human eyeball landed by my right foot. Everywhere there were screams of death and misery as Duriel took out the wrath of the underworld on us. I didn't see Maria, but I didn't have to guess she was probably on Duriel's back attempting to gather his ice energy.

Piricus' fiery golem was still present in the group and occasionally I would see it launch a fireball that made impact with the creature's side, but other than that, I didn't see Piricus himself. I heard a loud, excruciating roar. I looked over my shoulder to see Ketan the male saber-cat clutching the stump of his left arm. Several of the remaining females moved in shield him, but were easily swiped away into pieces with a swing of Duriel's arm. Nira and Gyra stood boldly together in front of him, growling fiercely.

The fiery golem stepped between them and the monster, intentionally or not, I don't know, but it grabbed Duriel's massive appendage in its flaming hand, burning the tissue at least superficially. The gigantic demon recoiled enough for the two she-cats to remove their injured leader from harm's way. I caught a glimpse of Maria atop Duriel's back with her boots covered in ice that Scorpious' aura was trying to keep at bay. Her katars were swirling with energy and she raised them above her head. In moments, it would be over.

My hopes were dashed as Duriel lurched forward and bucked fiercely, apparently having felt Maria on his back. She soared head over heels through the air and landed hard on her back with her katars falling to either side of her. Duriel spiked his bladed arm down to finish her and she rolled out of the way. Duriel's demon blade smashed into her miniscule katar cracking it. The energy contained therein exploded, leaving a crater of ice where it had been moments ago.

Unfortunately for Maria, she had rolled into the path of Duriel's other scythe and her other katar was also directly in the path of destruction. I grimaced.

In a practically unthinkable gesture, Ahmad the mercenary grabbed her around the arms and pulled her out of harm's way, but Duriel's spike severed his left leg completely in her stead. He howled in anguish and slumped against a nearby wall. Maria grabbed her remaining katar desperately and took aim. She hurled the weapon at the crest on Duriel's head expertly. I tensed, but again was let down. The weapon exploded upon impact, but didn't leave a scratch on Duriel's body. Her katars hadn't been able to contain the tainted ice energy.

"What do we do now?" Laurella asked as helplessly as I felt myself. She fired an arrow at Duriel's eye that merely bounced away.

"I don't know. We need another vessel to harness that power, but what do we have?" I asked hastily shifting aside to avoid being stabbed by one of Duriel's chubby legs.

"It has to be a person," Piricus growled dangerously from somewhere behind me.

"Excuse me?" I said, almost too shocked to breathe.

"A person can channel that energy longer than any metal object," he repeated strongly,

"And it's not going to be me," he added rudely, "because ten to one, they are going to die."

"Can't Scorpious protect them?" I asked desperately.

"You put too much faith in your precious paladin," Piricus growled. As if on cue, our auras began to diminish.

"See?" he added snidely.

"Scorpious?" I called frantically, trying to ascertain what had just transpired. I saw him a short way ahead of me, but he appeared to be perfectly fine.

"PULL BACK! PULL BACK EVERYONE!" he called powerfully.

Piricus scoffed. "Looks like your ninny general is out ideas. He just told you to retreat."

"Scorpious—" I started questioningly.

"RETREAT!" he demanded more harshly than I'd ever heard him before.

I could only stand still in amazement until Rasheed grabbed my arm. "If you don't want to freeze solid I suggest you move," he urged. To my further surprise, Scorpious didn't retreat with us.

"Going down with your ship, paladin?" Piricus called snidely. "Pride is one of your sins."

Scorpious didn't look back, but he was surprisingly firm in his answer. "Piricus," he began sternly, "You were right about me."

Piricus raised an ivory eyebrow. "What are you talking about, moron?"

"I have absolutely no sense of self-preservation," he said bluntly. Without warning, Scorpious began to chant so loudly his prayer turned into a song and that song echoed around the dark grotto like a war cry. Powerful cerulean light wrapped around Scorpious' entire body as he concentrated his aura on himself alone. He ran under a swing from one of Duriel's scythes, then used one of the demon's injured legs as a stairway onto his back. Scorpious' armored boots sloshed through Duriel's purple blood, collecting frost as they went despite his aura. Scorpious planted his feet in Duriel's injured back as the demon tried to buck him off, sinking knee-high into the demon's icy essence. Once he had secure footing, Scorpious leapt from Duriel's main body onto the back of his torso. The demon wriggled, but Scorpious had a secure hold and the demon wasn't able to reach him with anything, claw or teeth.

My paladin friend slammed his armored hand down on top of the crest of Duriel's head, impaling it. He let out a loud outcry of pain and I watched in great tension as ice started to flow into the injury and swirl around his body. Moments passed and each was more unbearable than the last. Scorpious was in a terrible amount of pain, but he didn't let go. His concentration was fading because his protective aura was fading as well.

"Enough! It has to be enough!" I cried desperately.

"Almost, but not quite," Piricus said emotionlessly.

Duriel lifted his enormous mass onto his back legs and attempted to bash Scorpious against the ceiling to pry him loose. That would have been the end of everything we fought for. If Scorpious fell, we'd be out of options. I grabbed a javelin and enhanced it with lightning. I could clearly see the orifice the ice was coming from that Gyra had spoke of earlier. I threw my javelin desperately and prayed. The javelin hit the mark and a confined explosion happened within the trunk of Duriel's body. Like wiggly gelatin, the impact only jostled his frame, though the ice did subside.

Piricus had also taken the opportunity to strike at Duriel. His flame golem disappeared as he summoned a clay golem under Duriel's remaining feet. The ice had not been slippery to Duriel, whose legs were like snowshoes, but he slid on the thick yellowy clay and fell sideways. Scorpious flipped on top of the monster and shoved his holy sword, now brimming with demonic ice into Duriel's throat. He embedded the sword up to the hilt pouring the ice and his own life energy into it.

"Die, demon filth!" Scorpious snarled powerfully. "RETURN TO THE ABYSS!"

Like Maria's katars, ice exploded from the weapon and blasted Scorpious clear of the demon. Duriel started staggering dangerously and I saw ice creep up his neck from within like spiders on a web. His skin began to blue, and then harden into white ice. The ice began to stretch, then crack. Duriel's top half disconnected with his bottom, the ice had become too heavy to stay connected and both halves of the enormous demon hit the floor and shattered into an array of demonic diamond dust.

Stillness passed through the room and I knew that it was over. For now. The wall on the far side of the room rumbled and everyone turned their immediate attention to it. We dealt with Duriel, but we hadn't yet faced Diablo. My knees started to tremble as a large figure emerged through the icy cloud of dust. Someone coughed and a familiar voice cursed.

"Damn. If tha' ain't tha foulest tastin' air I ever breathed," Alminus said as he fanned the demon ice away from his face.

"You said it," Ryelass grumbled, a feature that a bear's voice soon agreed to.

"Gaia," Cloudyous breathed. A short bark was heard as Belthem came running out of the mist as well. He greeted his master vigorously with sloppy dog kisses and excited barks.

Cloudyous looked relieved, but still had a great sorrow in his heart. He walked over to the fallen corpse of the wolf, Midnight. He put his palm on the animal's head and started speaking in a druidic language, my guess giving him his last rites.

"Do a head count," Ryelass said grimly as he looked around at the graveyard the grotto had become.

"There are six of us from his majesty's service, Rasheed answered grimly. Myself included."

"What of the mercenaries?" I asked.

"There are three of us," said the mercenary brother, Tron bitterly. My guess was he had seen the remains of his brothers in the butchery that lie around us. "Or there will be in a moment. My guess is that Ahmad is not much longer for this world," he added, gesturing to the far wall.

I hastily made my way over to find the mercenary, Ahmad being tended to by Laurella as best she was able. Her hands were covered in his blood as she attempted in vain to use a piece of her cloak to staunch the severe bleeding.

I knelt down beside him and noticed grimly that Ahmad was gasping for breath and blood was starting to drip from his lips. "Rest now. We're seeing to your injuries," I said, regaining my normal demeanor as I removed my left gauntlet and cut the leather strap off. I wrapped the strap around what was left of his leg, attempting to stop the flow of blood.

Ahmad coughed and his body trembled. He wheezed several times before he was able to speak, sending flecks of blood over the tops of my hands. "Save your efforts, they are in vain," he said feebly.

"You let me be the judge of that," I said sternly.

Ahmad coughed violently as he struggled to reach his neck. "At least I know I can trust you. Remember what you promised, lady amazon," he said with strength fading in his words.

"No, that's not going to happen. You're going to be fine," I insisted. "We've stopped the bleeding," I explained truthfully.

"It's n . .not . . .enough," Ahmad gasped. "Ice . . ." he managed to rasp between breaths.

I looked down and realized regretfully that he was right. The demon's icy mist had crept into his blood and was freezing him from the inside out; I could already see the stump crystallizing.

"Please . .y . .you promised," he croaked, finally managing to remove the pendant from under his armor.

I closed my eyes solemnly and nodded. "I will take it to her. But, why?" I asked, knowing that I was about four seconds away from losing him.

"Tell her . . .tell her I love her, and that she will find a way," Ahmad begged sincerely. "Tell her!" he demanded with a gasp when I was hesitant.

"I will. I will tell her," I answered, unsure of what that could possibly mean.

"Than . ." he began, but never finished as he breathed his last.

"Chyemme . . ." Laurella said sadly as the life left his body.

"I know. Rest in peace, I will honor your request," I said softly, as I gingerly closed his eyes for him. I looked at the feathered pendant in his grip, then carefully removed it from his hold. It was strangely vibrant to the touch, this necklace, whatever it was had a strong magic in it. I decided upon wearing it, though I didn't much care for the idea of wearing something that personal of a dead man's. But I definitely didn't want to lose it and right now on my body was the only safe place for it.

"What was that about?" Ryelass asked from over my shoulder as he watched me.

"I'll explain later," I said bluntly. "How's Scorpious?" I asked with a new dread building in my heart.

"Maria's with him," Ryelass answered.

"That doesn't tell me anything," I said, fearing what I would see when I turned around.

"He'll live," Maria said plainly from where she knelt some ten yards away over my friend's limp form, though no one, not even Maria herself could deny that there was an emotional tone in her voice when she said the words.

"What a disappointment," Piricus muttered. "The man might be a god incarnate, he's immortal enough," he finished sourly. "What are your losses, kitty cat?" Piricus asked without taking his eyes off of Scorpious as Nira approached behind him.

"We have retained most of our tribe. We have lost ten great frasa today, and Master Ketan has lost an arm, but he says this injury will not stop him from continuing," she informed.

"Continuing?" Rasheed asked incredulously.

"Yes. We haven't found what we're looking for yet. The thing we just faced was Duriel, Prince of Pain. We have yet to find Diablo or Baal," Maria said eyeing him down powerfully.

"But if that wasn't . . .Allah. This is madness!" He exclaimed in obvious fear.

"Not yet, but I can arrange for it if you try and backstab me," Piricus said icily.

"Guys, what's this?" Laurella called out from somewhere over to the right. I squinted my eyes in the dim light and noticed that one of the chunks of ice from Duriel's body had knocked away a considerable amount of wall, revealing what looked like a stone archway leading into another hallway.

"The next step," Ryelass said immediately, running to her side.

"Wait, don't go in there right now, we still have injured!" Rasheed called after them desperately. "We aren't ready for another battle!"

"I'll take Laurella and scout it out," I said suddenly as an odd feeling I couldn't place washed over me. Ryelass, you come too, everyone else stay here," I demanded, feeling authority come into my tone.

"I'll not be ordered around by anyone, especially you, Amazon," Piricus said bluntly and stepped into stride beside me.

"I will come as well," Nira offered.

"Fine. Come on then," I insisted to both of them, having an urgent feeling pulling in my gut as we joined with Ryelass and Laurella.

Together the five of us slowly made our way through the narrow space; we even ended up crawling at one point, as part of the tunnel had caved in. I had taken point, with Laurella behind me. Every fiber of my body was alert as I sensed we were nearing the end of the tunnel. As quietly as I was able, I inched forward, trying to get a look into the next room.

My inner sight did the job for me, I started to see a scene, something from long ago and for a moment I saw the room as it once was. This place was grand; it was over a hundred feet tall and equally as wide. The room was split into two parts by a deep chasm with burning red fire dancing in its depths. There was a sturdy rope and wooden plank bridge over the chasm, leading to the back end of the room and a large triangular stone engraved with arcane symbols that were glowing like the midday desert sun. People were scattered around the room, some dressed in heavy armor, some in richly colored silk robes. There were a few in solid black, and a man at the edge of the crowd caught my attention.

He was tall and had a silvery tone to his shoulder-length hair. He wore black robes of velvet and overlying it, was an intricate platemail of ivory bone. The man had on some type of skeletal, horned helmet. The skull of whatever creature it once belonged to covered the upper portions of the man's face, the only things visible were his eyes. They were startling emerald green, just like Piricus'. The man's eyes developed a steely hue, not unlike Piricus' as a man in simple tan robes was brought forward, flanked by a woman behind him, and two men. The woman was familiar too somehow. She was young and very beautiful. She had long, chocolate brown hair that carried a slight wave to it, a wave that her tulip-red robes mimicked as she walked.

The two men beside the one in tan couldn't have been more different. One was tall, and had deeply tanned desert skin. He carried two twin scimitars on his back and his long, black hair, which was held back by a pony tail. His ebony hair swished over the small of his back, sweeping the blue handles of his weapons. The man across from him was slightly short, but more muscular. He carried a sturdy staff in his hands with a half-sun on top. Both men wore red robes that were patterned with white at regular intervals. The procession stopped short of the stone and the man in tan robes turned and faced the woman. I couldn't see her face, but I knew she was crying.

"It will be alright, Mai," the man said gently. "We have this chance to seal Baal away forever. He will no longer be a blight on our world."

"Your sacrifice will not be forgotten. It is a divine thing you do for us, Tal Rasha," came the pained voice of the woman that sounded so like Vendra. Now I knew why. It was her, over 400 years ago.

"Indeed," said the man to the right. He turned to face me, and I instantly recognized the mask he was wearing, though it was minus the demon horns at this point. Horazon. The real one.

"We will take care of each other when you're gone, won't we, Dathael?" Horazon asked the man to Mai's left.

"We will. Of that you have my word," the man, Dathael answered softly as he brushed away the tears on Mai's face. I could already see the jealously riddled all over Horazon's face and knew that this man must have been Sovellis' former self.

Tal Rasha nodded gently and a sincere smile crept onto his face. He looked so calm for one that was about to endure such a terrible fate. It pained my heart. "Then let us begin. Tyreal, we are ready," Tal Rasha called out loudly.

Then, a voice like none I'd ever heard filled the room along with an unexplained light. **Then bind him, and let evil be banished from your mortal world forever.**

The next thing I saw was a flash of the same room, but this time I had the feeling it was more modern. My heart grieved when I saw the being upon the stone, the shell Tal Rasha had become. He was emaciated, his body no more than a shack of bones with old brittle skin. His face was no longer gentle or kind, but one of pure anguish, and shrunken features. His clothing had holes and was gone in several places revealing decayed flesh. The man, or what was left of him thrashed violently against the confines of his magical chains and in his chest, a resonating yellow shard protruded giving off evil saffron light that seemed to distort reality with its mere presence.

"_HELP ME!"_ Tal Rasha screeched in torment. "_HURRY! HURRY!"_ he shouted in anguish to someone crossing the bridge, which had now aged considerably and was old and rickety, and missing several planks. I got a vague look at this person and recognized it as the man that was traveling with Marcus. He was trying to make his way to Tal Rasha, but why?

Thunderous tumult drowned out anything and everything else. Unearthly screeching filled the air followed by demonic bellows. And through the mix of that, it seemed to me like the ringing of silver bells and the humming of pure energy. The ground was shaking and the ceiling was caving in. The chasm was becoming a volcano and I knew that some major battle was taking place here. Then I heard the voice again, it was desperate.

**NO! DON'T DO IT!** The resounding voice demanded in dismay. I watched as the strange man, for reasons I will probably never understand, pulled the demonic stone out of Tal Rasha's chest with a sickening plop. In a blur, something large and gleaming like nothing I had ever seen blurred through my line of sight and said something to the man I didn't hear. I was too distracted by what used to be Marcus Valarius. He looked like literal hell, there were pieces missing out of his clothes and his body. Great injuries, nothing that could be sustained by a human in any way, dripped demonic, black blood over every inch of ground he walked on. There was a hole in his forehead, a gaping wound that was pouring blood. There was no doubt in my mind as he sauntered towards the human man and the luminescent being, Marcus Valarius was gone forever. The demon Diablo screeched, and as if from a nightmare, Tal Rasha's fingers and hair all suddenly elongated and became fleshly like tentacles. The ends were pure nail and sword like and one of those blades lashed at the blur.

**RUN! TAKE THE STONE AND RUN!** The glimmering being shouted urgently and tossed the man across the chasm to the exit I now found myself in while Diablo and Baal in their human hosts both attacked.

**Now you know what happened. It is likely that the actions of one of you have doomed you all.** Came the voice that sounded too ethereal to be real. It echoed in all directions at once and seemed to pass through my body and into my soul. But it was not an evil feeling.

I blinked and looked up. I was surrounded by a blinding combination of white and golden light. I shielded my eyes and looked a little deeper into the light. I almost fell down in shock. There was an enormous being standing there in the center of the beaming glow, probably about twelve or more feet tall. Every inch of this being was covered in a shimmering golden platemail that glistened in the light this creature was giving off and causing flashes of sparking rays to cast off the lustrous silver accents. The armor didn't have a single hole in it, nothing to give me a glimpse of the person within. The being had a solid golden cowl that covered its entire face; you could not make out anything, only a blackness in the hood which the light cast into shadow. But yet, it was not a threatening blackness, there was nothing foreboding of an attack or characteristic of the demonic in the stranger's veiled face. Protruding from the creature's back where twelve or more long tendrils of plasmic white-blue light, fanning out in the shape and arrangement of wings, not unlike a bird's might have been. I recognized the light. It was the same kind that came from Scorpious' blessed sword, only a thousand fold more powerful and ten times as bright.

I didn't have to guess what I was looking at. This was an archangel and most assuredly, my gut told me his name was-.

"Tyreal . . . .oh my god . . ." I heard Laurella breathe faintly from somewhere behind me.

"Rogue what are you—" Piricus began irritably, but even he was abruptly silenced as I turned and saw him come through the dark tunnel.

I looked forward again and blinked. I rubbed my eyes vigorously, not entirely sure I wasn't dreaming. "Are you real?" I asked stupidly, this being the only thing my astonished mouth would allow me to let slip through.

"Amazon of course he's real. I see him too," Piricus snapped rudely, though for some reason it had an odd tone, one of definite discomfort to it.

The angelic being in front of me inclined his hood slightly, a definite nod. **I am. I thank you, mortals, for my freedom. But I did expect you earlier. I am the archangel Tyreal. I came here to prevent Diablo from freeing his brother, Baal. But I have failed. Now, terror and destruction roam free throughout your world. Even now they head toward the Eastern Capital of Kurast—to the very heart of the Zakarum temple. There they hope to find their eldest brother, Mephisto, the Lord of Hatred who was imprisoned there ages ago. If the three prime evils unite, they will be invincible.**

I have never been more surprised than I was at the utter disrespect that Piricus addressed the divine being in front of us with.

"Excuse me? You just let Diablo and Baal out of here? How in the name of Trag 'Oul did that happen? You're supposed to be a high and mighty angel. Man, the paladins aren't the only thing going downhill. Their deities are lacking as well," he said bluntly.

The being that was Tyreal turned his body towards Piricus, and I hastily apologized. "I can't believe he just said that, I'm so sorry," I said as respectfully as possible.

The archangel didn't seem offended, in fact, if I could see his face I had an odd feeling he might have been grinning as he faced Piricus.

**Ah. You are one of his more interesting creations.**__Tyreal said simply, though his tone also portrayed a brief amusement.

Ryelass looked crestfallen and at the same time, enraged beyond words. "It doesn't matter what happened," he said quickly. "They escaped us and we need to find them. Archangel, you said they're heading to the paladin temple in Kurast?" he breathed. I could hear the jumble of emotions in his voice. There was sadness, fear, anger, shock, and reverence all at once as Ryelass addressed Tyreal.

Tyreal said nothing but nodded once more.

"Paladins are a joke. I have a feeling I know what happened," Piricus said suddenly from beside me with an odd sense of irony in his voice.

"What are they after, if they unite?" Laurella asked meekly, as the image of Tyreal's magnificence reflected in her eyes.

** Though it is unclear as to what their aims are, it is certain that they must be stopped at all costs. Mortals there will be a time for questions and now is not that time.** the angel answered simply, but not harsh in any sense.

"Last one then, lightning rod," Piricus said sarcastically eyeing his beaming armor. "If you're so tough, why don't you chase them down and bring them to justice or whatever yourself? Why us?" he said in a blatant disrespect.

Tyreal was brief in his answer. **I am broken and the energies that tie me to this world are diminishing rapidly. You must take up this quest and prevent the three brothers from reuniting. You must cross the sea and search for Diablo and Baal in Kurast. The rest of you are prepared to leave this place and I will use what is left of my energy to give you a path. Now hurry mortals, time is running out for all of us! ** he said urgently and in a flash of blinding divine light, Tyreal vanished before our eyes, leaving a gleaming blue portal in his place. The image of Lut Gholeign was visible on the other side, it appeared peaceful, as though nothing were ever wrong.

Silence ensued moments after Tyreal had vanished. Ryelass was the first to break the silence. He let out a string of swear words that would have made a drunken sailor blush. He savagely kicked a pillar next to him, shaking loose a layer of dust and leaving a hole there.

Piricus wasn't much better. His green eyes were flashing in fury, but he stayed silent. Laurella was much like I was, too much in shock of what had just happened to really have any acute sense of command. I didn't have to be telepathic to realize that she had probably gotten a dose of the same visions I had received beforehand.

"You should rally the rest of your pride. This hunt is far from over and we will need to move as the hittana madrith has commanded. I will go to them now and relay the message," said Nira, whom had been silent through the whole time. The tone in which she spoke was one of reverence, so I could tell that even a saber-cat knew who it was we had just seen.

"You do that, kitty-cat," Piricus said in a deadly silent voice.

"What now?" I asked Piricus dubiously.

He locked his eyes on mine and the glance we shared sent a chill down my spine. Something wasn't right with Piricus, his mind was somewhere else right now and it showed. It was uncharacteristic of him and that unnerved me. Maybe it was the appearance of the angel, which he obviously didn't think much of.

He scowled, returning his trademark expression to his face when he answered me. "Hell if I know, amazon. Everything's always up in the air."

I turned to the portal the archangel had left us as several people and saber-cats surfaced into the room. I felt an odd tingle pass through the necklace Ahmad had placed in my care and I touched it softly. "I guess you're right about that," I said truthfully. "Hell if I know either."


	20. Chapter 20

AN: Thank you so much everyone for over 100 reviews, all your emails and notes of support! I'm so touched and truly thankful that you like this story this much. So here it is, without further ado, I present to you, the final chapter of Sands of Ages. Enjoy!

Unexpected

Piricus

I watched silently as the rest of the sad group of beings that had managed to survive the wrath of Duriel entered into the musty old chamber where the legendary Tal Rasha had once been imprisoned and now, just like my Trag 'Oul forsaken luck, the place he had been freed. Confound it all and may the soul of the moron that did this rot in the lowest circles of reincarnation to be born again as a roach I would smash beneath my heels. Stupidity. Stupidity is the only reason this could have happened. But the thought still lingered in my mind, how did this happen?

I looked to the amazon, whom was starting through the portal to the jewel city absently. I had a feeling that she knew the answer. I heard the being that called itself Tyreal say something about her discovering what happened. It definitely wasn't something the rest of us saw or heard; it had to be that odd gift of hers that allowed her to see something in here we didn't. Perhaps I would ask her later.

I shook my head vigorously at the thought, shaking it out of my mind by physical action. What the hell was that? Since when did I ask someone else for information that really didn't pertain to me? Never, that's when. But a creeping thought just wouldn't rest. It cycled in and out of my conscious thoughts at an alarming speed. What if this did pertain to me? The being claiming to be Tyreal had said that Diablo and Baal where heading to Kurast to unite with Mephisto. . . if what it said was true, then that would indeed pertain to me and be a major problem and pain in the ass. The problem being that I've sworn vengeance against that demon maggot Mephisto for making me go through the forsaken mess that I've spent the last almost seven months of my life living, destroying my ship, wasting the order's gold when the ship sank, and most importantly having to deal with imbeciles like the paladin, whom the irritating assassin was now carrying on her back into the room.

Mephisto would be unlike any demon I've ever faced. I knew that with no doubt. It would be a tough fight, but believe me when I say you don't cross a necromancer like that and live to tell the tale, I don't care who you are. But that fight would be damn near impossible if there were three prime evils present. I am only one human being, and if my eyes hadn't deceived me, Tyreal had only been one angel.

I scoffed at the thought and snickered sarcastically under my breath. How sad. The grand and invincible archangel Tyreal had been trapped in a tomb by just two of the three prime evils working together in human bodies. Well, the human body part was truly just a guess of mine at this point, seeing as how this room was devoid of human corpses. But either way, the demons had trapped him in here and for some unknown reason, this all-powerful deity of the paladin's heaven couldn't get the hell out of here by himself. No, for some reason the glitter-clad, esteemed tin can had to wait on human hands to get him out of this bind. Talk about pathetic. No wonder the Zakarum were going downhill. I thought vaguely to myself about what the angel had said about the Zakarum temple. If the paladins were still there, the two might have a slight hindrance, but not much of one. Maybe if they wiped the entire order of paladins out it would take them a whole day, but I didn't figure them into the equation much more than that. Useless I tell you. All of them. Especially ours. Having a woman carry your unconscious half-frozen ass off a battle field is pathetic and I would die from the shame if I were him.

Well, maybe he wasn't entirely useless. It was true that just like I expected, he had chosen to sacrifice himself to stop Duriel. He was useful as a gallant idiot, truth be told it was highly likely that none of the others besides him and myself could have gotten that close to the demon without freezing solid, and I was certainly not going to die for anyone. Speaking of dying, how in the name of Trag 'Oul was the paladin still alive and in one piece? That demon's ice magic would have frozen a stone to brittle dust, or maybe contained lava without melting. Everything and everyone else that monster had touched was now a mutilated ice sculpture, even with the paladin's aura. How is it that his body was still completely unharmed? I saw the assassin give him a thawing potion, but that shouldn't have mattered. The chilling magic of the Prince of Pain was second to none, and the stuff we had been thawed with externally contained an acid salt. It wasn't fit to be administered internally; it would rot a man's innards if they tried to drink it. That man . . . he was either immortal or just plain lucky, which I thought might account for more anyway. But luck had to run out some time. It had to. And with the rate the paladin kept narrowly dodging death, I'd say he's used it all already.

"Is it true that you saw an angel in here like Nira said?" the druid asked quietly as he was the last to come through the space, carrying the carcass of his dead black mutt.

"It is. But we need to get out of here as soon as possible. I'll tell you the story later," the amazon promised with a distant tone in her voice.

"Yes. He needs to see Fara immediately," the assassin said in reference to the paladin. Without another word or concern for anyone, she walked through the portal with the paladin's limp form over her back.

"Wha' r' we gonna der 'bout tha frasa?" the barbarian asked skeptically, eyeing the large grouping of half-felines.

"Kitty cat," I said addressing my minion, whom turned to me obediently. "Tell your male he's held up his end of the paladin's deal and done a hell of a lot better than the rest of this sorry lot. You're free to go back to wherever you're from, and explain unless he'd like all of you skinned and your hides to adorn the taverns of Lut Gholeign, none of you had better come back with us," I said simply, getting a harsh glare from the amazon.

The she-cat eyed me oddly, a clear sign she wasn't sure about something. "Master, what about me?" she asked politely.

"Go back to your box, kitten. I don't need you. My business out here is done," I assured. As useful as having a minion like her was out here, when I hit the Kurast docks I was going home and I wasn't taking anyone but Darius with me.

"I see. What about master paladin?" she furthered.

"Unless that imbecile gets to a healer, his business will also be done. I've no clue what he will want with you. My guess is the same, seeing if he lives, he'll likely be leaving this damned desert as well. Farewell, kitty-cat," I said shortly and walked toward the portal.

In my place, the amazon offered the she-cat a more considerate departure. "I will speak for all of us when I say thank you for all the aid you have given us. Tell Ketan it has been an honor to fight alongside him and we will celebrate for your departed along with our own. I have a feeling the quickest way back to your oasis will be through the entranceway you came in back through Duriel's chamber," she supplied.

The she-cat shook her furry head. "Do not worry about our return, lioness. Your human magess, Adria gave my master a stone which will take us home together," she assured.

"Goodbye Nira. May the goddess watch over you and your pride," the amazon added politely.

"Tell master paladin should he have need of me, to send for me, for he has not yet formally released me from his service. Let him know that by Frasa custom I am still bound to him until he does, but for now I will return to my own home with my pride. Fair earth and great prey, lioness Chyemme, and the same to the rest of your pride," she said affably and as if on cue, all the half-human saber-cats roared loudly in a cohesive farewell. Their roar resounded in my ears as I stepped through the portal impatiently. Goodbyes were not in order for anyone else; I had too much to do, not that I would say them even if I were bored witless and had nothing else to do inside of a hundred years.

My feet hit the sand of Lut Gholeign as the harsh desert sunlight bounced into my face. I blinked to adjust my eyes to the illumination change, and then started back for my room at the inn. To my pleasure, I didn't see the assassin or the paladin. If I was fortunate, then I would be able to avoid them altogether and never have to look upon their sorry forms again. I had a feeling that since Diablo had left this damn desert that the imbecile emperor would reopen the ports soon when he got the news.

First on my agenda was to find Darius. I needed to know if all the items on Lord Rathma's list for my trade voyage had been acquired yet and if not, I needed to make it happen immediately so both of us could return to the order the second the first ship out of here sailed. Second on my agenda would be to inquire about the status of the Viz-Jaq'Taar's "findings" on the two of us. I wanted to know what they knew. Having this information would be crucial in securing passage on a trade ship undetected so that none of their insolent fools gave us any trouble on the way back to the order, attacked us, or try to follow us into our temple home.

Third on my list of things to do would be packing all our goods carefully and in secret, and last but not least, get the hell gone. I walked into the dingy old inn and the elderly innkeeper eyed me oddly when I walked through the front door.

"What are you looking at?" I snapped irritably, as I waved my room key dismissively. This old fool was going senile, he had already asked to see my reservations twice this week when I walked in and had apparently forgotten I was rooming here to begin with. It was a convenient thing to forget, but also extremely irritating when he demanded an additional rooming fee when I'd already paid it. I swear if I cursed his mind, he might actually get smarter. The idea had crossed my own mind, but with this many assassins mulling around, cursing a fool because he annoyed me would be more costly than it was worth.

The old man blinked casually. "M' looking at you, of course. You look a real mess there, fellow. What with all that blood n' gunk you got all over you folks might think you've been up to no good," he said stupidly, albeit earnestly. The fact of the matter was I did have blood and demon goo all over myself, but that ranked last on my list of important matters.

"If I were you, I'd look at something else and forget you saw me come in," I said icily, attempting to have my voice and expression convey the threat I wished to make.

The old man was clueless. He actually starting laughing.

"What now, imbecile?" I growled.

"Aww, I remember you, it'd be hard to forget. You're the one with the lovely priestess for his lady. Tall gal, kinda muscular. Beautiful, long blonde hair and big baby blues. Wears red armor most of the time and carries ya up to yur room when you ain't feelin' well. Come on now, fellow. With a girl like that on yur arm you might make an emperor jealous," he said with a mirthful chuckle.

I snarled at him audibly, and I was swiftly losing reservations with the thought of cursing him. "That girl isn't ANYTHING to me," I hissed, angered he'd have even made such a comment. "Wipe that smile off your face old man or I will do it for you," I said, voicing my threat.

This man was a moron. He didn't know when to quit. "Yeah, yeah sonny and I'm a rainbow macaw with a golden beak and truesilver talons. I see how it is, I've been round that block a few times m'self. Now, now, don't be givin' me that look. M' just sayin' that if ya wanna retain that gorgeous goldilocks ya gotta take yourself a bath, n' clean up. Them girls, especially the good ones, they don't like no scruffy ruffians. Of course, your lady, she got one hell of an arm . . ." he blathered.

The curse to decay his tongue was on my fingertips when I eyed Darius standing secretively in the stairwell to my left. He also had an amused look on his face, and between the two of them, I was going to kick somebody's ass. I abandoned the innkeeper's babble and hastily made my way to Darius, trying to ignore the irritation burning in my cursing fingers. The brief contact of the necromantic energy with my hand had given light to my family tattoo and it was burning black with my anger upon my pale skin.

Darius looked me over and the smile faded when he noticed the mark. "Calm down, prince. It's just an old fart and likely he won't remember what he said thirty seconds from now, much less in an hour," he whispered.

I scowled openly. "Don't call me that out here, fool. You're supposed to be acting like me and that would be ruined if the assassins heard you say that just now," I snapped venomously in a hushed voice.

Darius shook his head plainly as we reached the door to my inn room and I unlocked the bolt and carefully deactivated the curse I had placed upon it as well. Once we were safely inside, he spoke freely, though still in a quiet tone.

"Trust me when I say that you're perfectly safe, Prince Darkblade. All the assassins are tied up in some sort of communal gathering. I saw that elite one you're traveling with run through some portal with an injured paladin. She took him to the paladin Fara, then left suddenly. I have no idea where she went in particular; she used a cloak of shadows spell and vanished. I think she might have known I was nearby, but I know she didn't know I was watching. Anyway, point being, I managed to tail a lesser one and then I followed another going the same place not half the hour past. They're all having a meeting, and I can say that the import is great. They've left one rookie that doesn't have the talent of a fish playing lacrosse on land to watch you and I combined and I gave him the slip over an hour ago and haven't seen any trace of him since," Darius relayed.

I wasn't convinced. "Sounds like an assassin trap to me. You should have been more careful regardless of whom you knew was watching. There are other ways to spy on someone that don't involve the physical sense," I said with a growl, thinking instinctively of the assassin bitch's immense mental abilities. "It's not who you see," I added dangerously, "it's who you don't."

"No offense, Prince Darkblade, but I'm pretty confident that this meeting is legit," he insisted.

I felt an angry sigh escape my lips, but now was not the time to deal with Darius' hunches. I needed to cut straight to the point. I waved my hand dismissively when he tried to further his argument. "That doesn't matter right now. Is Lord Rathma's list complete?" I asked swiftly, becoming direct as I turned to Darius expectantly.

"Some of the items were not easy to come by," he began.

"I've no time for your shopping escapades, Darius. You either have them or you don't," I said irritably.

"Yes, prince. They're all accounted for. Including the case of Adder's Vice. Though how we are going to get that past port embargo I have no idea," he added dubiously.

"Darius, you're forgetting who I am. I have my ways," I said briskly, though I had to admit the news that the trade errands were done did improve my mood slightly. I moved on to my next question. "Back to the assassins. What information on us have they gathered? Anything distinct that you know of?" I asked.

My fellow necromancer looked out the window vaguely and his dull brown eyes scrutinized the sandy wall of the next row of buildings beyond. "On you they know quite little. I gather they only know enough of your abilities from what the assassin you've been in direct contact knows. They haven't really said anything about you other than that you are 'suspicious', but you know them. All mages are suspect in some way or another. Now I, on the other hand, have quite a fair amount of gossip going through their ranks. They saw our meeting out in the alley like we planned last week, and since then, they have been watching me like a vulture until just now. I have been very careful in whom I acquired our items from and those people I have had contact with in my stay here. I have used spells only a novice would as not to give anything away," he explained, though there was a small grin on his lips.

"How does that do anything to set in their opinion that you're the emerald prince?" I asked snappishly. "All that would tell any average idiot is that you're being sneaky."

Darius laughed. "Yeah, I kind of needed something distinct to convince them, didn't I?" he said sarcastically.

"Well?" I growled impatiently.

"Well, I got it. It just so happened when I mistook your amazon friend for an assassin spy and attacked her that a real assassin saw the fight. The assassin saw the Adder's Vice on my dagger, but luckily it was one of the younger novices and I'm almost completely certain they had no idea that it was a poison and thought it was a—" he started.

"Powerful poison spell, something characteristic of me," I finished for him. "But there's only one problem. Did that assassin snot-nose see me get involved?" I asked, a headache beginning to form on my temple.

Darius shook his head. "No, Prince. She ran back to rally with another one that was on a street over from us out of sight. I know this for a fact; I overheard that meeting when I was on my way back to my own quarters. I spotted them," he said with that same grin.

I couldn't deny that it definitely was good news Darius was bringing me so far. My mood had now improved markedly, though I was by no means joyful. The assassins had circumstantial evidence and it leaned heavily toward framing Darius as the Emerald prince. I knew that illusion, if that really was the correct perception the assassins had right now was very fragile, but I didn't care. I just needed it to last two more days at most and then I'd put this whole scenario out of my mind permanently.

Darius must have noticed my facial expression change, he was actually smiling. "Have to say, so far so good, eh? Even you have to admit things are working out better than we planned so far. Though that last bit brings me to another question. What are you going to do about that amazon, Prince? She did interrupt something crucial and she knows too much," he said suggestively. "I'm truly surprised you stopped me from killing her."

I turned to him snappishly. "If she'd have been killed so would both of us," I said simply. "We're in the belly of the Viz-Jaq'Taar. Anything that they perceived as murder would have brought all of them down on us, fool. I'm very powerful, but I can't take on their entire order, much less you. And that brings me to this: what I do to that woman is none of your concern. I'm your superior, I give the orders, and you just obey. That's the way this works and asking me questions about things that don't concern you aren't included in that," I said flatly.

Darius raised a brown eyebrow. "Actually Prince, if I may be so bold, it does concern me. The assassin recruit saw me attack her, and they obviously know she survived. They'll likely be questioning why. They will wonder what the connection between the two of us is," he replied, though slightly more cautious in his tone.

I felt my scowl return. "An irritation, but I doubt the assassin filth will be able to draw anything useful from that association," I stated in return.

"What if they associate her with us, Prince Darkblade? They know she was spared and the assassins might interrogate her for information thinking she's connected to us. What's to keep her from ratting us out?" he asked and I could hear the unease in his voice.

"Darius, enough of your speculations. The amazon is not much of a concern; otherwise I would have dealt with her by now. Let those imbeciles wonder. Like I said, they won't draw much from her, even if they do interrogate her. She doesn't really know anything other than you bought Adder's vice. For all she knows, you could be the real Emerald Prince, and that does nothing but further our own ends," I growled.

I waited for his inevitable rebuttal; Darius had always been the kind to question. I was pleased when he fell silent and merely shrugged. "If you say so. After all, you'd know better than I," he added submissively. "In all honesty, I'll just be glad when we leave here and return home," he finished.

I nodded curtly with a sarcastic snort. "Truly. That we agree on." A knock sounded on my room's door, causing me and Darius to look up immediately. I waved my hand in a silent command, giving him the order to retreat silently out of sight. I felt a familiar irk in my spine. What idiot could be coming to call? I had a guess, because no one else would have that much nerve but her. I had strictly ordered that senile old fool I was not to be disturbed even for his "inn-keeping" and tidying and had purchased that privacy with a very real amount of gold.

I thought about ignoring the knock and pretending I wasn't here. After all, what the hell else could she want now? I was done with them. All of them. I glowered at the door for a moment, then a voice came I wasn't expecting.

"Open in the name of the emperor, I bring you important tidings, Lord Piricus," came some masculine voice I didn't recognize.

"I doubt it," I growled irritably, but decided upon opening the door. The young fool that was the ruler of this place didn't hold any respect with me, but he did control the port system. Perhaps this messenger was here to give me my pass out of here, but I highly doubted it. This could also possibly be an assassin spy or worse. I conjured a subtle bone spire in my palm, not quite a knife, but it was a fragment that I was sure would slice cleanly through any metal and into the heart of my opponent should this turn to a battle.

Darius nodded to me quietly from his concealment behind my wardrobe. Not that I needed his support in the slightest to deal with one assassin dog, but at least he was acknowledging the potential situation.

I opened the door a slight crack and stared into the eyes of some half-sober looking herald dressed in imperial colors. He had an imperial crest over his right breast pocket, from which a paper was protruding.

"Out with your message, moron. Don't waste my time," I said plainly.

The man cleared his throat. "Umm, right. I apologize for the disturbance, but I bring you this invitation from his majesty, himself. The emperor commands all heroes that were present at the vanquishing of the monster Duriel attend this event before the reopening of the city's gateways and ports tomorrow. This is all," he said cutting to business and he slipped the paper in his pocket through my doorway before I had a chance to refuse and walked away.

I watched the paper carefully as it fluttered to the floor of my room, expecting for it to explode or contain some type of magical trap that might activate any second, but true to any parchment, it crinkled slightly when it hit the ground. Moments passed and nothing happened. All was still. I closed the door to my room carefully, not taking my eyes of the parchment. It was a horrid sort of purple, a color I would have expected a color-blind old hag to choose. There were venous-looking patterns of dye rippled along the edges of the folds, suggesting that this paper was hand-dipped in an expensive violet stain, a frivolous show of status when coupled with the waxy seal that had been embellished in pure golden dust. I scanned the piece over with my spiritual senses, and oddly enough, I found no trace of magical enhancement.

Darius lingered hidden for a few more moments, then stepped back into the open when we were both sure the messenger had gone. "I'd say it's safe. I don't sense anything on it and doubtfully, neither do you," he stated obviously.

"What now?" I growled, bending over and picking the feminine-looking object up nonchalantly. A flowery smell wafted into my nose as I unfolded the message, this paper had also been scented in what appeared to be jasmine.

"It's probably some royal order to a battle debriefing. I honestly didn't think the emperor would have let you go without one of those," Darius said truthfully.

My eyes scanned the first few lines of silvered lettering contained within. I felt all my good spirits die away instantly. Annoyance replaced any trace of relief I might have held. I crumbled the paper in my hand and tossed it hard into the wall in front of me. This was the most irritating thing that could have possibly happened. I'd just as soon fought Duriel all over again.

Darius watched my reaction and I could see the curiosity in his eyes. He retrieved the paper and read the contents for himself. I guess he couldn't suppress it, he burst out in a mirthful laughter.

"SILENCE!" I snarled loudly, no longer caring who heard me.

"Yeah, I also didn't think he'd let your group out of here without one of those either," Darius choked between laughs.

"DID YOU NOT HEAR ME?" I hissed dangerously, feeling my temper rise.

Darius must have seen the emerald flash in my eyes, because I saw the reflection of the light in my room's mirror. He stopped laughing, but still retained an amused smirk. "In all due respect Prince Darkblade, I believe you've faced worse. A grand ball is no big deal. Just stand in some dark corner silently until it's over," he suggested. "Then when it is, you'll have appeased the emperor and we are guaranteed passage home."

"What a pain in the ass," I said through gritted teeth. "I'm not some pompous peacock that parades around in a useless garment and I definitely don't attend parties. What a waste of my existence," I continued angrily.

"You're right about that. They may be useless, but this strictly says you're not to attend in anything but formal attire. I don't think I need to tell you it'd be wise to blend in at this scene and not cause a commotion when we're this close to leaving here undetected," Darius reminded.

"I've no time for shopping and this moron, emperor or not, will not command me how to dress when it was me that saved his sorry ass to begin with!" I demanded.

"I knew you'd say that. I picked this up for you on the emperor's tab," Darius said plainly and opened the door to my rented wardrobe that had been empty before. I eyed the garment within with malice, willing it, and the pompous brat that ordered this idiotic revelry to burn in the deepest circles of the nether.

Darius rolled his eyes. "Trust me; this was one of the better options. And also trust me when I say that you reek right now. I'm a necromancer, but the stench of whatever demon you've got on you would attract a flock of maggots from the deepest recesses of reincarnation. No offense, Prince," he said sarcastically.

I wrinkled my nose when I had finally regained enough calm to reply. The smell of jasmine mixed with Duriel's icy blood and all the human and saber-cat body bits plastered onto my armor and underlying robes was rank, even to myself. I closed my eyes and let out a long and frustrated sigh.

"And you have a suggestion for this as well, I take it? I'm not going to a common bathhouse on a day like today," I said irritably.

"Use this," Darius said, tossing me some sort of old, half-rusted key attached to a wooden clothespin. "The old man said this place has a private bath chamber on the lowest level, down the last hall on the left. I checked it out earlier; it's pretty vacant seeing as you have to pay a considerable fee for fresh water in this place to start with. I'd go now while it's still fairly early," Darius suggested.

I scowled, but said nothing. I took the key and hastily left my rented room following Darius' directions. True enough, I didn't encounter anyone else on my way to this place which was seemingly no more that a wooden storage door off the left. I turned the key in the lock and opened the door into a small, dim space about ten feet by twelve. There was an indent in the floor with steaming water coming from within, though true enough, I couldn't smell any salt to it. The whole place looked like a spring; I could see jets of water bubbling gently under the surface. There was a divide in the middle made of a folding wooden curtain, though it was opaque and I couldn't see beyond it. I didn't sense any movement, so I knew I was alone.

I locked the rickety latch on the door, securing it and undressed quickly. I tossed my armor and robes unceremoniously onto the floor in a heap and made to step into the water when I noticed something odd. There was a pile of rags in the corner of the room, on top of a barrel, along with what appeared to be assorted silver and gold fragments hidden under the lid that was partially open, but it was the glint that caught my eye. I stared at the oddity, puzzled for a moment with what ratty cloth would be doing with gems and precious metals. I blinked as I realized that the cloth was actually the remnants of a tapestry, judging by the frilled ends. But odds and ends rarely ever catch my attention; it was the depiction on the cloth. A jumbled picture was presented in inky, black fragments. A style similar to the one I had encountered on the clay pot in the Valley of the Magi.

I walked over and removed it carefully. I'm not one for curiosity, but somehow, I felt drawn to this piece. I unfurled it on the ground, not sure what I was expecting to find. When the piece was laid out before me, I discovered it was a square, but missing two large pieces. The top, left portion was completely missing, and so was the diagonal right lower corner. The image was held together by literally two or three threads; this tapestry had sustained a massive amount of what looked like fire damage, but I couldn't tell. The image was startling to me, whom had not really been expecting it.

The upper right portion of this remnant depicted the head and bust of a female warrior that looked very much like the amazon. Same armor design, same musculature, same hair style, length, and even her face. This warrior woman held a flaming spear aloft, poised to strike some creature, whose depiction was missing on her opposing side. The lower left corner of this piece made no sense to me. There were probably about six sets of what appeared to be furry, spindly legs with spikes on the tips. This reminded me vaguely of an arachnid, but I couldn't be sure. This creature's legs, if that's even what it was, were cast in black too. There was no color to this picture save the background of the tapestry. I blinked and stood motionless for several moments. I had the oddest sense that somehow these pictures were connected, but why and how I didn't know. I scoffed after a minute and tossed the ruined silk finery back onto the rag pile. Maybe where she was from, all the amazon warriors looked like her. Maybe it was a cultural style. I had no idea. I slid into the warm water, casting the matter solidly aside. Well, almost entirely. I thought of the amazon that had been accompanying this Trag 'Oul forsaken band of morons and wondered vaguely what she was doing right now, but then decided that it didn't matter and took to scrubbing the demon stink off my body vigorously.

Chyemme

I eyed the small, narrow house in the wall that belonged to Ryelass as we walked toward it slowly. So much had happened in just the last hour alone, not to mention that we still hadn't caught up to Diablo and now Baal was free too. I cringed as I looked around myself, finding that it was a sentiment that everyone seemed to share. This included Scorpious, whom had miraculously rejoined us just after a mere two hours in Fara's care. He assured us he was well enough to travel with us and had eagerly pleaded for a full account of what transpired after he blacked out. He was of course, astonished to learn that I and a few of the others had seen the archangel Tyreal himself and was, true to his holy nature, very disappointed he hadn't gotten to see the angel himself. I could tell that he was full of questions on every detail of that matter, but as it were we had more pressing things to speak on. I had told the rest of the group that was assembled at the time about Ahmad's last request, though this didn't include Maria or Piricus, both of which had seemingly disappeared directly after returning to Lut Gholeign.

True to his nature as well, Cloudyous had requested to see the amulet, but as keen as I was for his opinion on it earlier, that curiosity had faded into a slight apprehension and an odd protectiveness over the necklace that had been grimly left in my charge. I would let him examine it later, I decided. And then I would speak with Scorpious alone in regards to what I had seen in my vision. He would know what steps we needed to take in order to follow out Tyreal's orders. After all, we were headed into the heart of the Zakarum temple, to Scorpious' order. On that same note, Ryelass was the other reason for my silence. He couldn't know what I saw. It would destroy him. I had to leave him, at least for now, with the hope that Marcus was still within reach of salvation. That was another matter I would seek Scorpious' counsel on, and perhaps Deckard Cain's as well.

Ryelass looked up at his mother's home ruefully for a moment, and then replaced the forlorn look with a more mild one of relief. I knew what he was thinking. If nothing else, we had spared Lut Gholeign from the wrath of Duriel and that included his mother. He walked up to the door and entered with the rest of us in tow.

Yvette was all smiles and laughter as we walked back through the door to Ryelass' house. "You did it! You did! The news is everywhere!" she squealed in delight and nearly knocked her son over as she jumped on him, hugging him fiercely.

"Mom, I can't breathe," Ryelass wheezed.

"Sorry!" she apologized lightly and withdrew slightly. "I knew you could do it!" she added happily and hugged him again.

"I wasn't alone," Ryelass said modestly, and moved aside so that Yvette could see the rest of us.

I thought Yvette couldn't be any more excited. I was wrong, and touched as her face lit up like a firecracker seeing the rest of us, which she hugged in turn.

I cringed as Scorpious stumbled a bit when she hugged him. Something was wrong that he wasn't telling us, but I guessed it couldn't be too serious. If it was, I doubt Fara would have let him leave her care.

"Oh mercy! Are you alright Scorpious?" Yvette asked seriously, seeing the way he wobbled on his feet.

"Fine, my lady I assure you. Just exhausted," he said sincerely.

"It was crazy the way you saved everyone!" Laurella said in admiration.

"You saved them?" Yvette asked fondly.

"He jumped on top of Duriel and struck the final blow," Cloudyous admitted.

"Incredible!" Yvette said brightly and she kissed Scorpious' cheek. "Thank you so much!"

"Don't worry about it," Scorpious said modestly.

"Are you going to be well enough to go to Lord Jerhyn's ball?" Yvette asked eagerly.

"Ball?" I asked curiously.

"Didn't you hear? Lord Jerhyn is throwing a ball for all of you before the ports open in a few days! The whole city is humming about it!" Yvette said energetically.

"I think we missed tha' part, Yvie," Alminus said truthfully. "We're dog tired," he added with his massive shoulders seeming to sag.

I snorted in amusement. Both of Cloudyous' wolves panted at the same time Alminus spoke and laid down on the floor.

"You too?" Laurella asked them sympathetically.

Belthem whined as Sky nudged the stump of his tail. I felt a small pang in my heart as I eyed the injury I has created, but there truly had been no other way to save him. Bibo gave a rueful squawk as her bird's eyes fixed on his amputation. It seemed like she felt sorry for him too.

"Don't be so dramatic," Cloudyous said to him lightly, "It could have been your life." Cloudyous' face dropped for a moment, a sorrowful flicker of emotion flaring behind his eyes. The absence of Midnight seemed to be something tangible to them. Cloudyous sighed and shook his head softly, allowing his former high spirits to return. Belthem groaned and put his head down on his paws.

"The same could have gone for all of you," Yvette said softly.

"Not all of us made it out of this," Ryelass said ruefully and his mother's face dropped for a moment.

"Was it one of your friends?" she asked sympathetically.

"I guess you could say so, he was one of Griez's mercenaries, so he's been with us almost as long as we have been here," he answered.

"I'm sorry," Yvette said sympathetically. "Did he have a family? Is there anything I can do to show my condolences?"

"He does have a cousin somewhere; he said her name is Xialah. But she's not here in Lut Gholeign, I know that much. He said last he saw her, she was somewhere near Kurast. Other than that, he said nothing of family that I know of before he died," Ryelass answered.

"I see," Yvette said sadly. "So what will you do now? Did you find what you where after out there in the desert? Have you . . ." Yvette began, choking on the words in her throat, "Avenge him?"

Ryelass looked away painfully. "Mom, I don't know how else to say this, but the monster got away. We dealt him a serious blow by killing a major Lieutenant of his, but my job's not done yet. Not until that monster is dead," he said, barely managing to speak the words himself.

I expected Yvette to cry, seeing as how Ryelass himself was on the verge of his own emotional meltdown, but she surprised me. She sighed very softly, and hugged him once more before holding him at arm's length with her hands on his shoulders. She looked into his eyes softly.

"Sweetheart, you and your friends have already been through so much, and revenge—well, it wouldn't be worth anything if I lost you too. Darling, I'm sure Marcus is already so proud of you and I know he'd agree with me when I say that all of you look like you could use a rest. Why don't you all stay here in Lut Gholeign with me for a while?" she offered kindly.

"Sorry mom, I can't. You know me; I'm my father's son. I have to see this through to the end, whatever that might be, and as tempting as that offer is for all of us, I'm sure, we just can't right now. But, I promise you mom, when all of this is over, I'll come back here and settle down," he replied as gently as he was able.

Yvette looked crestfallen. "Are you sure?" she asked.

"I'm going to Kurast with the others in a few days, at the very least, I feel honor bound to find Ahmad's cousin. He made a request to us before he died that we return a keepsake to her," Ryelass explained with the exclusive truth.

I understood all too well what Ryelass was going through right now, but the fact of the matter was he was right. We didn't have time to waste and we would be leaving here very shortly. I was glad Ryelass chose to be as vague as possible with the occurrences of the demonic- he hadn't said anything about a battle with Duriel or mentioned Diablo in the entire time he was here. I knew it hurt him to lie to his mother about Marcus' fate, but it would probably serve Yvette more kindly to be oblivious until everything was completely over. When all was said and done and Marcus had been avenged, perhaps it would be safe to tell her then.

"Well," Yvette said, sighing at last, "I suppose that is the proper thing to do, to honor the last request of a friend."

"Well, on the brighter side of things," Laurella began, "Apparently we have some sort of party to attend. That should be fun," she added, trying to lighten the mood.

"Definitely a relaxing change of pace," Cloudyous agreed.

"I'll say," Alminus admitted.

Yvette smiled. "That is true, you've all worked terribly hard and sacrificed a lot for us. I should think some type of reward is in order."

"The only reward I require is in knowing that our deeds here have made lives easier for others," Scorpious said nobly. Belthem looked at him and whined from where he lay on the floor.

"Well," Scorpious added, a slight grin coming to his face, "a warm bath and a nice meal wouldn't go unappreciated."

All of us actually laughed, including Scorpious himself. "I'm sorry, did that sound selfish?" he asked with an apologetic grin.

"Not in the slightest," I assured him.

"Ya, I think 'is place owes ya at least tha' much," Alminus agreed and gave him a pat on the back. I cringed as he stumbled forward and almost fell. Something was very wrong, I could see it in Scorpious' eyes for a fraction of a second, but then it was gone.

He regained himself quickly and laughed it off. "You've gotten stronger Alminus," he laughed, "Or I'm dead tired, which I think is probably the case."

"Sorry, I didn' think it wers tha' hard," my barbarian friend apologized.

"Almy dear, gentle for you usually should entail barely touching someone," Yvette laughed. "Your father has told me about plenty of furniture you've broken by just touching it and he also said that you've knocked him over plenty of times on accident," she giggled good-naturedly.

"Yeah, yur righ' 'bout that," he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

"So, the bathhouse is just up the street," Yvette said gently, and I'll have dinner ready for you once you get back no worries," Yvette promised.

"Thank you," Scorpious added gratefully, "but please don't rush yourself on my account."

"Hey Yvette, is the bathhouse fixed? I mean an elephant kind of tore the place down the last time we went," I added with a grin, recalling the night Cloudyous saved us from Gaia and the other wolves.

"Yes, they actually managed the repairs quickly, surprisingly enough," she answered with a smile.

"I think we should all go," Laurella said, eyeing her own armor splattered in demon goo, "this is gross."

I felt a familiar presence in the doorway. "Do you think it's safe this time?" Vendra said sarcastically as she and Sovellis walked into Ryelass' house. "I mean, Cloudyous, you haven't found any more wild animals that might be able to run amok," she laughed.

"No I haven't, but I can't make any promises. Nature is well, nature and is unpredictable," Cloudyous said playfully.

"Yeah, well, now that I can again, I'm going to blast any bears or wolves that try to eat me," she retorted lightly.

Sky and Belthem looked at her and groaned.

I Laughed. "I don't think they'll give us any trouble at all. Say Cloudyous, where are Gaia and Bibo?" I asked curiously.

"Bibo is actually with Lord Cain at the moment. It appears that she knows him somehow and he has promised to tell me the story later. Gaia is outside in the alley between this house and the neighbor's, she's too big to fit in here," he said simply, "that, and I didn't want her to frighten Yvette or eat her out of house and home. Bears have a nearly insatiable appetite," he said politely.

"If you go to bathhouse, it best she stay where is," Sovellis said in amusement.

"That's an obvious truth," Ryelass laughed. "Mom," Ryelass said politely, "This is Vendra and this is Sovellis. They're mages that have come to train with Drognan on the last part of their trials," he announced politely, introducing each of them that bowed politely in turn.

"Well, we have good news," Vendra said with a genuine smile.

"We no apprentice anymore. We graduate," Sovellis said with his own beaming grin.

"Oh, well congratulations! I'm going to prepare double the food! We'll celebrate your achievements as well tonight. Any friend of my son's is a friend of mine," Yvette said brightly.

"Hey, did you guys hear? Lord Jerhyn is throwing a ball for us," Laurella informed.

"Yeah, we heard. Thrilling," Vendra said with a snort. I think she had been through so much lately that something as tame a social party seemed pretty insignificant.

Sovellis nudged her playfully with his elbow. "It be fun. Something no dangerous for once."

"I don't know about that," she teased. "You getting drunk is dangerous. I don't want to spend my evening counteracting stray spells."

"You sound like you're irritated," Laurella observed.

Vendra actually laughed heartily. "Nope. I'm actually in such a good mood I don't even think jackass could ruin it."

"Wow. That's a big admission," Ryelass laughed.

"I'm going to go on ahead," Scorpious said, though politely. "Yvette, if it is alright with you, may I leave my armor in here?"

"Of course!" she assured and he armored down leaving only his pants and shirt. He neatly placed his armor in a pile against the wall and left, though with a nod at us.

I grimaced as he stumbled on the last step leading to the door, and had to catch himself on the wall. He didn't acknowledge that anyone was watching, but instead left like he intended without another word. I looked around myself, seeing if anyone else had noticed this worrisome occurrence, and it seemed like Laurella had. She walked to my side and gave me a dubious look.

"What's wrong with him?" she half-whispered in my ear. "He hasn't been himself since he got back from Fara's," she continued.

"I don't know," I answered in concern. "Maybe we should go walk with him since we're all headed that way anyway," I suggested.

"I wouldn't worry too much," Ryelass said from behind us as he looked at the doorway from between our shoulders. "He sustained a serious injury, and it's probably just going to take a while to heal. Scorpious knows how to look after himself and he wouldn't have left Fara's if he was in critical need," he comforted.

Laurella looked at him and shrugged. "Yeah, you're probably right."

I was far less optimistic, and I'm sure the only reason Laurella agreed with Ryelass just now was to try and ease her own mind. She felt it and so did I—there was something off in Scorpious' energy pattern and only a practitioner of inner sight would be able to tell. It was subtle, but then again that's usually how most serious problems begin.

"I think we all need to clean up," Vendra said distastefully as Sovellis accidentally brushed her elbow with a demon-oozed sleeve. She wrinkled her nose, and then snorted. "And I mean all of us," she emphasized, nudging Sovellis.

He laughed and nodded himself. "Yes. This true. My nose ache. I no pity Belthem and Sky. Their smell sense greater than ours," he laughed lightly as Belthem wrinkled his nose as well and groaned.

"Well, that settles it then," Yvette said with a laugh of her own. "Everyone should go clean up and when you get back, I'll take you ladies through the bazaar to pick out your evening wear for the ball. The emperor's invitation states that he'll expect no less, and he's graciously provided quite a generous amount for you to fulfill this request," she informed, holding up a violet piece of gold and silver-embellished parchement.

Vendra raised an eyebrow as she looked at it. "Did everyone get one of those? I mean, even jackass?" she asked aloud with an amused smile on her face.

"It says everyone that was with you, so I assume so, I don't know this person you're talking about," Yvette said politely.

"Be grateful tha' ya don', Yvie," Alminus said with a chuckle.

"I doubt he'll even come. I just can't see him doing something like that," I stated truthfully with a small guilt in my own heart. He'd left so quickly—I knew I shouldn't have expected anything less, but I hadn't even had time to breathe a word to him. I was desperately hoping I would see him tonight, and if not I resolved I would find him in the morning, no matter what.

"Actually Chyemme, he might not have a choice. If he wants to stay in Lord Jerhyn's good graces he will HAVE to attend. Knowing him and how badly he wanted out of here to begin with, I'd say it's a safe bet that he won't offend the emperor if he's smart," Cloudyous said simply.

Alminus cleared his throat. "Uh, Yvie, wha' 'bout us? We gotta dress up too?" he asked with an uncertain look on his face.

Yvette smiled. "Of course. Lord Jerhyn's invitation said everyone, and he's provided an equally royal budget for you too. Don't worry, Almy dear, I've got it covered. Elder Cain has agreed to accompany you young gentlemen while I'm with your lovely young ladies," she informed. "You'd think growing up with only brothers and then having only sons to my line I'd know how to formally dress young men, but," she continued with an amused grin, "but all my men have always preferred armor to robes," she finished, eyeing Ryelass' chainmail breastplate. "I had hoped to see a certain someone in ceremonial—" Yvette started playfully, as she adjusted the straps on Ryelass' bracers that had come loose absently in a motherly reflex.

Ryelass coughed and cringed, making Alminus and all the rest of us laugh in good humor.

Alminus grabbed Ryelass' left shoulder and gave Yvette a mischievous wink as he pulled him away from her motherly fussing. "Don' worry Yvie, we'll go get cleaned up n' maybe yur wish'll come true tonight," he said humorously as we all started toward the bathhouse.

Once outside, Ryelass sighed heavily. "Thanks for that, buddy. That was slightly embarrassing," he said saracastically.

Laurella giggled. "I think it was kind of adorable," she insisted.

"I think," Ryelass continued with a mock gag, "that adorable fades for men when you pass the age of five."

"Be grateful that your mother is still around, even when she does irritate you," Vendra said somewhat seriously.

"You lost yours?" Laurella asked sadly.

"We both did when we were little," Vendra said softly, looking to Sovellis. "But let's not talk about that now," she insisted.

"I agree. We're supposed to be celebrating tonight, even if we don't really believe we should," Cloudyous said simply as he eyed the wolves walking beside him. I noted with amusement that people on the street were looking at our bunch oddly, and giving us a wide girth as they fixed their gazes on the large wolves with us.

"Cloudyous, are they going to the bathhouse with you?" I asked in amusement, eyeing Sky and Belthem.

Cloudyous looked down and laughed as if he just remembered something long forgotten. "No. I think that would be a bit too disconcerting for the locals. We're just always together, they usually go where I go and sometimes I honestly forget they're not human," he said in amusement.

"How you forget?" Sovellis asked good-naturedly.

"I talk to them in a language that's as familiar to me as common tongue is between us. I see them as I would any other intelligent being and that includes people. But for the time being, I'm going to request they go stay with Gaia in the alleyway out of sight and wait for Deckard Cain to keep them company when he comes back from his meeting with Adria," he informed and in the time it took for one to blink, both wolves calmly left our side and passed into a nearby alley.

"Where are they going?" Laurella asked curiously, "Ryelass' house is directly back the way we came behind us."

"They'll use the alleys to get there. They understand the importance of staying out of sight. These people are obviously afraid of them after what happened a few weeks ago and likely haven't forgotten. I didn't want anyone to attack them," Cloudyous said logically as the bathhouse came into view when we walked around a heavily populated street corner.

Much to my surprise, this corner was populated so heavily because of the bathhouse. There were actually lines going into both sides.

"Wow, this place is busy. What, did they remodel the interior in sapphires?" Vendra asked sarcastically as she watched two mercenaries on either side allow two more people inside.

"They're all here for the ball," Laurella replied as she watched two young ladies in the line ahead of us gesture over certain parts of their bodies and talk about dress fabric.

"I thought this affair was only going to be for us and the nobility," I asked in surprise. "Isn't that usually how things like this work?" I finished, truly not understanding this whole ordeal. I had briefly studied other cultures in the time of my preliminary lessons in preparation to be a priestess at home, but I hadn't had an in-depth study of foreign customs like this one. True enough that we had feasts and festivals back home on Skovas, but they were something only certain people usually attended, depending on the celebration. Here, it seemed like the entire city was going to be in attendance.

"This is a celebration to honor those that died fighting for the city as well. You have to remember the friends and family of all the mercenaries and guards killed, not to mention those that survived will probably be there as well. The invitation Yvette had said everyone, that included the mercenaries and guards," Cloudyous reminded.

"I'm not thrilled about this being a formal affair," Vendra said truthfully, "It's an extreme waste of money and effort to make us buy something we'll never wear a second time," she added.

"Yea, kinda pointless," Alminus affirmed, "but wha'ever. We gotta do as tha emperor says while we're here," he added.

"This where we part," Sovellis said with a gentle smile, not just at Vendra but to all of us. "Our line shorter," he added with a full laugh.

"Lucky you," Vendra snorted as the men left us to join the line to their side of the bathhouse, which was actually quite a bit shorter.

"Well, this is entertaining," I said, eyeing the scenes around me. You'd have thought it was Yule with the way people were running around everywhere carrying large parcels.

"How long do you think it'll take us before it's our turn?" Laurella asked as our line seemingly inched along.

"Who knows," Vendra said with a shrug. "I think this should be on a most needed basis," she snorted and rolled the sleeve of her teal Zhan-Esu robes up over her elbows to mask an obvious blood stain.

"Guys, why is it that most women have to do these things in groups?" Laurella asked as she watched a cluster of three go in.

"Because it's a popular idea, we get stuck in a line, and we get bored while we wait," Vendra said sarcastically.

"Isn't there anywhere else we can go?" I asked, starting to feel impatient with this process for some reason.

"Not that I know of," Vendra answered, "This is the first time I've ever been here."

"Me too. I think Maria might know, but she's not here. I wonder where she went?" Laurella asked aloud.

"With her, I'm not sure I want to know," Vendra said with an odd mixture of emotions in her voice. I could tell there was still not very much trust between the two, but her voice wasn't filled with animosity at the moment. It seemed to me she was a blend of suspicious and grateful. I didn't have to ask to know that she remembered who it was that stopped her and Sovellis from sacrificing themselves against Duriel.

"And I doubt, knowing her, she'd use a public bathhouse," I added truthfully, thinking of my friend's cryptic nature.

We must have waited in the same line for the better part of an hour until it was finally our turn. I let Vendra and Laurella go in front of me and I made to follow after them, but the guard stopped me.

"I'm sorry miss, but you'll have to wait," he said simply.

"She's with us," Vendra said as she turned around, but the guard merely shrugged.

"Too much going on today. You can thank your emperor for interrupting your teatime, move along, move along," he said blandly.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine," I assured, though not without frustration. I watched Vendra and Laurella disappear into the hall behind the guard. I tapped my foot impatiently and waited for my turn. My inner sight gave me a warning that something was flying my way. I reached out with my arm just in time to grab the wrist of some drunken idiot that was flying towards me. I twisted and threw him sideways, keeping myself from harm, but the man landed directly on top of the guard to the bathhouse.

The guard shouted in confusion as he squirmed beneath this enormous man's weight, trying to throw him off. A second man, just as large and inebriated as the first, sauntered towards us from the direction of Atma's tavern, flanked by four other men wielding clubs. The second drunken man said something about the first's mother. Surprisingly, even with as intoxicated as the first one was, the insults seemed to be registering and he was on his feet in an amazing display of drunken reflex. He grabbed for the guard's spear, but ending up grabbing the guard himself in a senseless display of alcoholic overindulgence and before I knew what was happening, chaos ensued. The guard from the male side of the bathhouse came over to assist the first, but was caught in the fray of four men behind the second drunk one.

It seemed to only take a split second for a brawl to break out here on the street between the two intoxicated men and seemingly several of the men waiting in line with the guards caught in the middle. Fists and weapons started flying all around and I ducked a stray punch from some ill-aimed riot member. Most of the women around me that had been waiting in line screamed as the absurdity broke out around them and hastily scattered.

A smaller man tried to smash a taller one's knees with a board he'd picked up from somewhere and I hastily had to jump aside to avoid being hit in the madness. I turned at the waist and blocked someone's kick with my forearm, before grabbing his foot in that same hand and twisting hard. I threw him to the ground and attempted to say something, but was interrupted by the sound of horses as Griez and a few other mercenaries arrived to reinforce the pitifully outnumbered guards.

To hell with this. A bath was simply not worth this stupidity. I would just go down to the beach if I was able. I turned around and was quickly pulled out of the way of a falling brick, apparently a part of a wall that had been broken off in the fighting. I turned to see Atma, the tavern keeper. She released my arm and we quickly walked away from the insanity taking place in the streets.

"Thanks for that," I said sincerely.

The older woman sighed, though it wasn't as pained as it was before when I met her. "Sad isn't it? What a little too much liquor will do?"

"What do you mean?" I asked uncertainly. "Atma, why are you out here?"

"Geglash got a little too drunk, as I'm sure you've noticed and was getting a little too personal with me. One of my other regulars also had a little too much to drink and apparently mistook me for his mother. That's what started this whole mess and before I knew it, Hector's friends had stepped in and the fight spilled onto the street. I was trying to find Griez, and stop it before it got too out of hand, but well, I obviously failed," she explained.

"He can't hold you responsible for this," I said, seeing the dismayed look on her face.

"No, he can't, but the sad part is I think he does resent me a little for this. This is the third time this week something like this has happened. It never used to be a problem, Jon and Nathan usually kicked them out before they got to this point, but well—" she said painfully.

"It's alright," I assured her. "You're only one woman and those were some very large men," I comforted.

Atma sighed again, before straightening herself up. "I won't have you feeling sorry for me; I know they wouldn't want me too. I've been around for a while my dear and I know how to handle myself around drunken ruffians. I think the simple fact of the matter is I will end up having to hire my own security. It will be a costly matter, but despite everything that's happened, business is actually booming right now," she said simply.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that part. Hey, Atma, do you know of another bathhouse or the like nearby?" I asked, recalling my original mission out here to begin with. "I was next in line but obviously, that's not going to happen now," I growled irritably at the people fighting, looking back onto the chaotic streets.

Atma nodded. "Yes, I do actually. Elzix, the innkeeper has a hot spring under his inn. It's private and not really well known because it costs a good amount of gold, but that's because it's actual fresh water. You must be going to Lord Jerhyn's ball tonight," she added.

"Yes," I said simply. "I think I remember the way to the inn, thanks Atma," I said earnestly.

"Wait, Chyemme—that was your name wasn't it?" Atma continued.

"Yes," I affirmed simply.

"Take this with you as my apology. If it wasn't for me, this probably wouldn't have happened. It should be more than enough of a fee for Elzix," she said apologetically eyeing my disgusting armor.

"It's fine really. You don't have to do this, it wasn't your fault," I assured.

"No really, I want you to take it. I was never able to thank you properly for the role you played in avenging my son and husband. It was no small matter and I will not treat it as such. Take it please, it will offend me if you refused twice," Atma said sternly in a tone not unlike my mother would have used with me.

I nodded reluctantly. I hated the idea of taking gold from a woman that had already had so much taken from her, but she was right. I didn't want to offend her and I desperately needed to clean up.

"I appreciate this. Take care Atma," I answered in gratitude with a nod.

"I'll probably see you later tonight, I will be attending as well," Atma assured as I left for the inn.

I was amazed that I remembered this particular path through the streets, having walked it only twice before. I came here with Maria to obtain truesilver and my mind registered where I had heard the name Elzix before. He must have been the perverted innkeeper I dealt with last time. Hopefully he wouldn't give me any grief this time. The second time had been to take Piricus to his room after our fight with Radament. My footsteps hastened when the thought occurred to me that Piricus might be there now. I could finally speak with him outside of a dire situation and hopefully catch him alone before he left. But, a bath was definitely coming first.

I walked in the door to the inn and looked for Elzix. He was behind the desk, and seemed for some reason, to recognize me. A sly smile crept onto his face.

"Good day miss. Back for more? M' sorry I ain't got no more truesilver," he said with a grin.

"Actually, I'm here to use the hot spring. We had a little fiasco down at the bathhouse," I said simply gesturing to my blood-stained armor.

"I'll say," he said with a snort, eyeing the mess all over me.

"Not that kind of disaster," I said with a sigh.

Elzix laughed. "Yeah, I know. M' just messin' with ya. Your snow-headed fella came in here a real mess too," he finished.

"Is he here? Piricus, I mean?" I asked, surprised by the eagerness in my own voice when I asked.

Elzix's grin broadened. "Maybe 'e is, maybe 'e ain't. I can't be givin' out that type of information missy," he answered simply.

"Right," I said awkwardly, stunned that I had even asked. "Is the hot spring available?" I asked again.

Elzix looked me over for a moment and his eyes fixed on my breastplate. "It is, if ya have tha right sort of money," he added. "And trust me gal, no matter how good-lookin' ya are, ya ain't gonna gamble that fare free," he said with a laugh.

"That's fine. I've come with money this time. What's the fee?" I asked, growing irritable with his continued gaze on my feminine anatomy.

"Ten standards," he said simply, making me almost choke. But then again, Atma had said it was outrageously expensive. I opened the bag she had given me and there was more than enough, in fact, I'd have three pieces left over. I thought about returning them to her discreetly when she was unaware, but right now that would have to wait.

"Yikes. I guess water really is like gold here," I mumbled and handed him the money. He reached behind the desk and gave me an old, worn iron key attached to what looked like the top half of a clothespin.

"Second door to the left down that there hall to the right, miss. Enjoy your bath," he said with a toothy grin that made me uncomfortable.

I followed his directions and came to a small door that looked like it belonged to a storage closet with a heavy iron lock on it. I used the key and let myself into the small space, no more than twelve by twelve feet. There was a rocky outcrop in the floor, and contained within the earthy basin was steaming hot water. There was a folding, wooden panel in the center of the room dividing the springs, but I couldn't see anything beyond it. I checked the area over for a moment, then locked the door behind me. I heard something stir on the other side of the barrier, in the water. I thought it might have just been the current of the water, and after listening I didn't hear anything else. I quickly undressed and armored down, slipping into the wonderfully temperate water. There was a bar of scented soap on the far side of the spring so I moved through the water and retrieved it.

I started scrubbing myself, determined to remove the Duriel and death stink from my body. When I was clean I would wash my armor. It was remarkable to me just how much the warm water was relaxing to my sore muscles and after a moment I realized how truly exhausted I was. I finished scrubbing and I could have sworn I heard another movement in the chamber next door. I was going to leave immediately, but decided that Atma had paid enough gold for me to enjoy this small comfort for a little while longer.

I leaned back and let the water wash over my entire body, enjoying the rinsing sensation as the clean water washed over my bruised thigh where Horazon's demon had impaled through my armor. I cupped my hands and then poured water over my tense shoulders, then down over my breasts. I felt so relaxed that I actually started humming a gentle melody from my homeland. The moment I started singing, I definitely heard a distinguishable movement past the divide next to me. There was no doubt there was someone else there in the spring, and I hastily stopped my absent melody and apologized.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you," I said simply. I expected some sort of acknowledgement, but there was no reply. I wasn't offended when I moments later I still hadn't received an answer; perhaps this person was like me and valued their privacy. I stood up in the water which came up to my waist and walked over to grab my towel. I heard the sound of breaking water and realized that the person next to me must have been getting out of the spring.

I heard a subdued guffawing from somewhere nearby and I realized with extreme irritation that I was being spied upon. I used my inner sight, seeking the most immediate people around. I felt the person next to me, which felt extremely familiar somehow and then someone over by the left wall. I scanned the area carefully and realized there was a small thumbhole in the left wall that someone was peering through. I grabbed a small rock nonchalantly that was on the floor around the far edge of the spring, pretending to be stretching so as not to alert this person I knew they were watching. I took aim carefully, still pretending to stretch, then released the rock at the peephole in one swift motion.

This person must have been expecting something like this; a wooden board closed across the hole from the other side at the exact second the rock hit. It turns out I had thrown the rock with such force that it hit the board and rebounded on me violently. I hurried to dodge the rock, which being up to my waist in water didn't happen very quickly. The rock crashed into the wooden divide and in my attempt to dodge it, I slipped on a patch of soapsuds on the bottom of the spring and I fell through it too.

I landed on top of something rather soft with a loud splash. I realized with horror that that thing was the other person as we both landed in a heap in the water completely naked. I could feel the energy coming from their skin.

I looked down and my heart froze for a moment. The person I had landed on was Piricus. I looked down briefly in confusion, feeling an instant blush come to my face despite the shock of what was happening. I got a pretty decent look at his body underneath mine in the split second we were touching.

His skin was as pale as moonshine underneath the water compared to mine and that paleness within the water seemed to make him glow in the dim space. He was actually very attractive despite the paleness of his skin. His body was well-conditioned but nothing overt like Alminus. And though he was slightly thinner than an average man the lines his muscles drew on his body made him appear as a work of art in my eyes. My eyes abruptly registered to a spot that was a stark contrast to his skin. He had a long, deforming gash across the lower stretches of his abdomen, seemingly starting from the inner portion of his right thigh and ending by his left hip. The wound was horrid looking when it was magnified by the water, I could see every jagged detail as what appeared to be a saw-like blade had lacerated his skin several layers deep. The wound was old, I knew that, but the underlying tissue was still a scarlet red as if it might bleed again at any second. I wondered what happened; this wound was in a very intimate area which definitely would be why I'd never seen it before.

I looked up into Piricus' icy green eyes, which were burning with fury. I braced myself for him to curse me, but instead he just settled for shoving me roughly off of him, back into the water. He pulled a towel off the ground next to him and hastily covered up as he exited the springs.

"Piricus—I have no idea how to apologize for this—" I said in all earnestly. This is definitely not how I wanted to speak with him. "I truly sorry, I had no idea—" I began in horror.

He looked at me dangerously for a moment, and I had no idea what to expect. I didn't expect the reaction I got. "How in the name of Trag 'Oul is it always you?" he hissed venomously. Although his voice was harsh, he made no move to attack me.

I opened my mouth to try and think of something to say to that, but he turned his back to me. His dripping white hair clung to his pale shoulder blades as he hastily collected his armor and made to leave.

"Don't ever speak of this to me or anyone else. If you do, I promise I will curse you mute and blind for the rest of your life," he said simply, but with a deadly sincerity so that this time, I knew the threat was completely real. I had no doubt in my mind he really would if I said anything.

I tried to ask him something else, if he was going to the ball, but he had swiftly disappeared out into the hallway and was gone. I thought about going after him, but I thought better of it for now. At least I knew he was still here in Lut Gholeign. For moments afterwards, I just lingered in the destroyed bathing room stunned. I shook my head and hastily made my own way out of the water, wrapping a towel around my own exposed body. I didn't really bother to scrub my armor as much as I did dunk all of it in the water and just wipe away the grime. A thorough cleaning could wait. I redressed and didn't even bother returning the key to Elzix. I left it on a box, knowing full and well he was the one that had been spying on me. I knew I'd have punched him if I saw him, even though he was an old man.

I walked back out onto the street, much cleaner and I definitely didn't smell anymore. I knew I needed to go back to Ryelass' house to rally with the others, but I didn't know my way back from where I was. I just picked a street that seemed vaguely familiar and began walking. It didn't take me long to find my way back onto the public main, I just followed the sound of mass commotion.

A man came running through the streets at top speed, he looked like he'd been in a fight recently, and he was bruised all over his face. Three mercenaries were chasing him, yelling random threats. I recognized him as one of the men that had taken a swing at me in the brawl. He reached me and made to shove me and three others aside and I decided I was just too irked to ignore it this time. I balled my fist, pulled back, and punched the fugitive directly in the face, knocking him out cold along with three of his teeth. The mercenaries reached me and eyed me uneasily.

"You wanted help catching him," I said irritably. "There he is," I said plainly and walked away, though hitting something had relieved some of the stress and I couldn't deny there was a smile coming back to my face.

I started seeing familiar sights the further along this road I walked. I eventually found my way back to the main square and there I saw an even more familiar sight. Scorpious was there, talking with Fara, Lysander, and Deckard Cain. Bibo was perched peacefully on elder Cain's left shoulder, intently listening as though she could understand what was being said. I decided that Scorpious probably knew the way back to Ryealss' so I walked towards them.

The closer to them I got, the more concerned their voices sounded and the more grave their faces looked. Something was terribly wrong. I wanted to rush over, but thought better of it. I walked calmly and when I was five feet from them, I could hear everything they said. They still hadn't noticed me, they all seemed extremely caught up in the conversation they were having.

"Brother, I cannot stress enough how serious your condition is," Fara said in an eerily quiet voice.

"Lady Strongfist," Scorpious began respectfully, "I understand the gravity of the situation, but I must press on. The mission we're on is of the utmost importance," he continued stubbornly.

"Yes, the elder has told me what you're planning to do, and I remain firm that you will not be able to accomplish it in your current condition," she reprimanded sternly.

"With all due respect my lady, I think the Lord will be the judge of that," he answered pressingly.

Fara closed her eyes in apparent sadness. "I don't know how else to tell you this, but you are on borrowed time, my brother. It is not your skill or your strength of heart, faith, or arm that makes me doubt that you will succeed; it is the fact of the demon prince's foul magic. I have done everything I can with the knowledge of the elder and even the assistance of the witch, Adria and it still wasn't enough. Brother, in sacrificing your body as a vessel to stop the Prince of Pain, you absorbed more tainted ice than we could purge," she insisted. "Brother, surely you didn't think that you alone could take such an intense energy into yourself and not pay the price?" Fara said with a pained voice. "Even with a spiritual power as strong as yours dear brother, the aura of one paladin was by no means enough."

"Lady Strongfist," Scorpious began again, "I'm aware that this will be a chronic condition that I must deal with. I knew the risk when I followed through on my actions. In all fairness, I expected that I was going to die then. There was no other choice, and I alone with our Lord's protection from ice, stood enough chance to deal the strike," he said powerfully.

"He took wrath of Duriel into himself in order to save the others. Good lady, there were over thirty souls there that were saved by his actions as I'm told by the rest of the heroes that rescued me and by a few of the guards that returned," Elder Cain said gently.

Fara nodded in reverence. "I will say this, my brother. I wish it were that I had been more like you when I was active in the crusades years ago. I have never seen anyone with a heart as selfless as yours," she admitted. "You truly have the spirit of Zakarum the way it was meant to be from the start," she added emotionally. I saw a tear actually run down Fara's face as she turned to Scorpious once more.

"Brother this condition will not be as chronic as you think. In fact, I estimate with the rate the ice is spreading inside your body, you have little over half a cycle of seasons and that is if you are compliant without fail in taking the potions Elder Cain and Lysander will have to devise for you. I will not lie in this either, dear heart, this condition will be very painful and it is not a pleasant end you will have when it catches up to you completely," she breathed heavily with emotion.

I couldn't move and I almost couldn't breathe. I thought I couldn't have been any more shocked or surprised by anything that happened, but I was wrong. It just couldn't be true that Scorpious was dying. It just couldn't be.

Scorpious himself took the knowledge like any other he had ever received-with grace and a certain sense of dignity. "I see," he said gently. The look on his face was unreadable for a moment. "You are right Lady Strongfist in the conclusion that really isn't a long time to hunt these abominations down, but nevertheless, I feel in my heart as if God himself is telling me, that I must try anyway. Lady, please do what you can, and then leave the rest in my hands, and more importantly, in his. Everything will happen as the Lord wills it, Lady Strongfist, including the fact that we will all die at some time or another for whatever reason. I will take comfort in the time I have left knowing that I have done the things I have for the cause of light and for the preservation of others. Who knows, perhaps, even in these last months, I still have a part to play yet for the good of our Lord," he finished humbly.

"You really are insane," Lysander said dubiously looking at him as if he were a mirage. "You just got told you're going to die within the year, that it will be painful and slow, and there is no cure in existence. Even a Horadrim sage and an esteemed sorceress can't fix you and you're as cool as a cucumber that's been placed on snow."  
"He's correct that we all die somehow," Fara said quietly. "Lysander, I'm asking you to work closely with the elder on this matter, you have only one night to devise this potion and it must work to the fullest extent possible. Do this for me, please, and I will see that you receive proper compensation," she said evenly.

Lysander nodded. "You keep your word always. Come, sage. Let's you and I work on this solution together," he added, though respectfully to Deckard Cain, whom nodded grimly and followed him across the square.

The world just seemed to have stopped for a minute; I truly couldn't believe what I was hearing. I was stunned to find a tear fall down my own cheek. I wiped it away quickly with the back of my hand, trying to put on a strong face. I'm an amazon, and we don't cry. Not like this.

"It will be okay, Chyemme," Scorpious said, looking directly at me. I guessed maybe they did know I was there, or maybe he'd just noticed. I didn't know or care. He walked to my side calmly like nothing had ever happened and put a hand on my shoulder.

"Come on, let's go back to Ryelass' house. I don't know why you're out here, but you look lost. We have a party to attend tonight and the emperor has requested we all look our best. Deckard Cain was going to assist us men in our attire, but I'll do my best in his stead," Scorpious said with a small laugh.

I looked at him painfully. "You're laughing? How can you still be laughing after news like that?" I asked sadly.

"The way I see it, pain or no, I'm going to do everything I can to live like I normally would and take comfort in the small things. Chyemme, I need to ask you to do me a favor," he started as we began walking back to Ryelass'.

"What is it?" I asked ruefully. "I've already got one person's last wish on my shoulders," I said grimly as I bit my lip to keep from saying anything else.

Scorpious sighed. "I realize that omission of the truth is just as much a sin as lying, but in my opinion if you never say anything at all about the matter, that doesn't really count," he said with that same laugh.

"You don't want anyone else to know," I concluded quickly.

He nodded. "I can of course, only request this of you as my friend," he continued simply. "I've no right to order anyone else around and I will not retaliate at you if you do choose to speak with someone else about it."

"What about Maria?" I asked suddenly, just blurting the thought on my injured heart aloud. Scorpious was a dear friend to me, even though I hadn't really known him that long. He was my friend, but I knew that Maria loved him as so much more. I don't know if he knew, but I couldn't help it.

Scorpious' shoulders seemed to sag for a moment, but other than that, he gave me no sign of any emotion connected to her.

"I'm not oblivious, Chyemme," he said at last after a few moments, "I realize that she is very attached to me, even though she tries for everything she's worth not to let anyone see it. This news would hurt her more than all the rest combined I'm sure, so for this reason I'm asking you not to speak with anyone on the matter, especially not her," he pleaded in sincerity.

I nodded solemnly. "I understand. You have my word I won't say anything unless you do," I vowed as we arrived at Ryelass' house and walked in together.

Yvette was dressed in her outing wear and gathered at the atrium to her house along with everyone else when we walked in.

"Where have you been?" she asked in a motherly huff.

"She's been banned from the bathhouse," Vendra laughed. "Everytime she goes there, a disaster happens. You look all clean," she added with a grin.

"Yeah, um, let's just get this over with," I said apathetically. My entire good mood was completely gone.

"Whoa, ya sound li' Piricus," Alminus observed strangely.

"What happened?" Ryelass asked in concern.

"I've had a stressful afternoon," I said vaguely, not willing to give anyone any hint in the slightest what was going on.

"Where's elder Cain?" Cloudyous asked curiously.

"The elder's been delayed out in town, he's asked me to head up this group for the essential task in his stead," Scorpious said lightly.

"Then it best we go. Night approaching," Sovellis said simply and we all headed out in our respective groups.

Shopping with Yvette would have been an enjoyable experience if I didn't have so much on my mind. It was a sentiment that the others seemed to share to a minor extent. Vendra seemed like her mind was somewhere else all afternoon as well, and Laurella seemed keenly interested at first in the dresses she was presented with, but quickly seemed to become distracted. Seeing as this event was so short notice, we were limited in what dresses had already been premade, though with this being the trade capital of the world, we were far from limited. Especially with the budget the emperor had given us.

Dress after dress we tried on and I was beginning to become frustrated with this process. Yvette would look us over and give us her opinion and it seemed like nothing was ever quite right. It took nearly three hours out around the town for us to make selections that pleased Yvette and that we were satisfied with ourselves.

We went back to Ryelass' with our selections and with Yvette's help began dressing in one of the upstairs rooms. I was absolutely appalled with how long the entire process to get into my dress took; it had so many elaborate folds and ties in places I couldn't reach. Armor was so much simpler, and didn't take nearly as long. I wondered how courtiers and the like did this every day like nothing. When we were finished dressing, I looked around myself.

Vendra had chosen a lilac gown with golden accents which also had long sleeves. Her dress hugged her hips graciously and the fabric became narrow towards the bottom. Vendra had taken very little extra measures with her hair, it still retained the same slight wave throughout, though she had scattered purple flowers through it. She had on four golden bracelets around one wrist and a banded golden necklace up high on her neck.

Laurella was wearing an evergreen dress with much shorter sleeves; hers only came slightly past her shoulders. Below the sleeves she had wrapped her arms in an intricate pattern with silky green ribbon, as if the ribbon had actually been part of the attire to begin with. Her gown had more volume starting around her waist and it fanned out the further towards her feet it went. Her dress was adorned with swirls of silver glitter in a strategic pattern and she had rolled her blood-red hair up into a bun with the aid of a swirling silver decoration.

I looked into a standing mirror in front of myself as Yvette led me to it. My gown had been sleeveless, a request of my own making, seeing as most of the things I tried on had been slightly tight around my upper arms owing to the fact that I'm slightly more muscular than most women. I didn't want anything that would restrict my movement in case a fight was to occur for some reason. My dress's sleeves just covered the tops of my shoulders, and Yvette had insisted that I wear matching gloves because I didn't want to show too much skin. So, just below my elbow I was now wearing evening gloves. My dress had a corset-like aspect to the front and a v-lined neck. The skirt portion was much like Laurella's and fanned out around me. The whole ensemble was a velvety midnight blue, but over the top of my skirt and over the bodice portion of the dress had been lined with a transparent fabric that held sparkling white stars of glitter, seemingly making this dress reflect the night sky. Yvette had been fussing with me over my hair, saying that it was so long I could do anything I wanted with it, but in the end, I imitated Vendra and chose to just let my hair hang down without a tie. I didn't want anything in the way of jewelry, but Yvette had managed to talk me into a small silver circlet that passed under my bangs and stayed across my forehead.

I looked so different as I eyed my reflection. Me, who was used to wearing armor all the days of my life and keeping my hair pinned back, was now wearing a dress and jewelry. I wondered what my own mother would say to me if she were here right now. Yvette had simply told all of us with pride that we looked beautiful.

We surfaced into the living area where the others were waiting for us. There was a sincere smile on Ryelass' face as he watched us come down the stairs, and Alminus was also wearing a goofy grin. Sovellis, as I expected had his eyes solely on Vendra and the cocoa goddess she had become in his eyes. The guys were dressed somewhat conservatively, an aspect that reflected Scorpious' nature in every way. Scorpious himself was probably the most simply dressed of the bunch. He had on a plain dark blue dress tunic and black dress pants. There was a golden cross on a simple brown cord hanging over his shirt, but other than that, he had no décor on the entire of his body. Alminus and Ryelass looked slightly more regal, they had added styled brown and gold over-jackets to their white dress shirts and both had on men's dress boots which came to the knee over their fine leather brown ceremonial pants.

Cloudyous surprised me the most, he wasn't wearing any type of fur on his body tonight and his simple linen shirt had been replaced by one that was a vibrant shade of orange, same as his hair and the long sleeves to his shirt held actual gemmed buttons on the cuffs. His shirt was slightly open at the neck, revealing his rune pendant on its simple cord. My guess was that emperor or no, you couldn't pay him enough to take that special object off. His pants were a complimenting auburn and made of silk, not leather. His boots were lined with soft dyed linen for accents.

Sovellis was probably the most vibrantly colored of the men; he had a full ceremonial robe on that was a sunflower yellow and had golden trim on all the edges. He had a swatch of translucent yellow-tinged cloth over his left shoulder around his chest like a banner with the same subdued golden pattern and the same fabric was wrapped at the ends of the robe near his feet.

"All of you look wonderful," Yvette said beaming with pride as she looked us over.

"Indeed," Scorpious said politely, though truthfully.

"Where's Maria? Has anyone even seen her all day?" Ryelass asked, looking around.

"Do ya think she even got 'er invite?" Alminus asked skeptically.

"Got it and am present," she said simply as she surfaced in the doorway of Ryelass' house before anyone had even registered it opened. Maria was truly a sight to behold. She was wearing a tube-topped ruby red dress that sparkled in the light. Her dress was slit up the sides, revealing a good amount of her skin due to the fact that she was wearing some type of heeled shoe that was open and attached with tied straps on the back of her ankle. Her dress stopped several inches short of being vulgar, and I thought I could see a hint of metal in the side. It made sense. She had hidden some type of weapon or the like in the slits so she had quick access to them should something happen. Maria's only other adornment was a solid black strip of velvet across her throat accenting her dress. Her hair was as it usually was, cropped short, though it had been washed recently.

"Okay and do I even dare to ask about jackass?" Vendra said with a slight scowl.

"He's already there," Maria said simply. "Let's go now, we've apparently gotten an armored escort," she said in amusement as we left the house. True enough, about a dozen palace guards were waiting outside and they escorted us through the streets to the grand palace.

Many people bowed as we passed through the palace hallway, a place I'd never been before. Everything was incredibly clean and well detailed, a fact that the others assured me hadn't changed from when they were here before.

Before I knew it, we were all ushered before Lord Jerhyn on his throne, and beside Piricus, whom had already been present. Cloudyous had looked unusual, Maria had looked stunning, but Piricus was the most shocking of all. I never thought I'd see him like he was now. He had on a long white overcoat that was short-sleeved and the length went to the floor, but had a grand golden trim and accents over the entire of the fabric. Underneath the dress coat sleeves was a simple, silken white dress shirt that fittingly covered the rest of his arm down to the wrist, and was adorned with the same golden pattern. His overcoat was buttoned fully, down to the waist, where the fabric branched off to the sides, revealing white dress pants of the same material as his undershirt. I noted with some amusement that his boots hadn't changed; they were still the same black leather. He had to have something of his usual black ensemble or it wouldn't have truly been him in my mind's eye. His hair was like mine, and no longer tied back into a ponytail, his ivory locks were hanging idly over his shoulders and part way down his back.

I saw Rasheed and the guards that had accompanied us as well as the mercenary Tron and his three survivors among the group amassed in front of Jerhyn's throne. Some of them were wearing armor and I was extremely jealous.

Jerhyn cleared his throat and then the room fell silent. He rose, and then helped a young lady dressed in grand teal clothing out of her seat beside him.

"Welcome, one and all! Tonight, we honor those who have given so much to protect our beloved city and our people! We hail you as the heroes you are and as one voice ,we of Lut Gholeign offer these fineries as a gift of our eternal gratitude and memento of your times here. So come, everyone, let's eat, drink, and enjoy ourselves to the fullest. Tonight a celebration for those that you see before you," he called loudly and bowed before our line gathered in front of him, "and for those that have sacrificed their lives and we see no longer. Our city is finally safe and we will rejoice!" Lord Jerhyn said jovially as he cued some band of musicians that had gathered in a niche to our right.

A bouncy melody began to play and as if rehearsed, multitudes of people began to take the floor, dancing energetically. Our group seemed to break apart as well, and I quickly made my way to the wall with a very peculiar problem. I didn't know how to dance.

Luckily, I really didn't need to at first. As expected, Laurella had eagerly grabbed Ryelass' arm and pleaded for a dance, to which he obliged without any delay. Sovellis and Vendra seemed to be off in their own universe as they danced a spicy sort of tango with a natural rhythm. Vendra actually kicked out a few times during the dance and Sovellis was laughing as he spun her around his dark arms.

I watched with a small twinge in my heart as Scorpious took the liberty of approaching Maria. He bowed before her, a sign of chivalry, and then asked her to dance. I wondered if she was going to decline, seeing as a party didn't seem to be her forte either. To my surprise, she accepted fairly quickly and only managed one furtive sweep of the scene with her eyes. They moved in a perfect a precision and I saw that Scorpious was smiling. I knew why. He had said it himself that he was going to enjoy the little things as much as possible.

I heard giggling and I realized that two harem girls were fawning over Alminus' massive muscles over by the food table. He of course, was living up the attention and flexing his arms for them. In an amusing display he lifted both of them up onto his shoulders, one on his left, one on his right, without any effort at all. He wrapped a massive arm around their delicate-looking legs, securing them in place, then twirled around in a circle making them shriek with amusement.

Cloudyous and I looked at each other from where we stood by the wall. "Where's the rest of your crew?" I asked with a reference to the wolves, raven, and bear.

Cloudyous smiled softly. "You think the bathhouse would have been bad, try seeing them in this place. It would have been an uproar. They're still out in the alley, but I know they're fine. Everybody except Bibo. She was trying to tell me something earlier, but I don't understand," he began.

"What do you mean?" I asked in confusion.

"She heard something while she was with Deckard Cain, she said the elder was very sad about something, but she doesn't understand human language and doesn't know what it was," he admitted.

"He'd tell us if there was cause to worry," I lied, knowing full and well what it was Bibo had witnessed.

Cloudyous nodded. "I think you're right. Would you care to dance with me, seeing as we're getting extremely close to Alminus' merry-making," he laughed as he sidestepped a flailing foot from a giggling harem girl.

I stared at the ground. "I don't know how," I admitted.

Cloudyous chuckled. "Me either in all reality, at least, not like they do here," he said watching Vendra's wild salsa with Sovellis.

"Those two are in a league of their own," I said with an attempt at humor as the first song ended. A second one began and before I knew what had happened, someone grabbed my arm gently.

"Aren't you going to ask such a lovely lady to dance, Cloudyous?" Ryelass said with a grin. "If not, I'll have to," he said with a smile.

"He did," I replied gently. "We were just discussing that neither of us really kn—" I began, but never finished. Before I could protest, Ryelass had tugged me by the wrist onto the floor. I thought vaguely about making up some lame excuse, after all, he hadn't even obtained my consent for this and I was sure I was going to make a fool out of myself, but he didn't leave me much of an option for retreat. He took my hand in his and placed one arm around my waist.

"Ryelass, I don't know how to—" I began insistently as he began to move with the music, more yanking me awkwardly along.

"It's easy," he said with a laugh in my ear. "I show you," he promised. "Watch my feet when I do this," he advised. I looked down in a desperate attempt to salvage my pride, but as I did, the music suddenly shifted and someone else grabbed my arm. I turned to protest and was face to face with some stranger I'd never met. I tried to say something and break away, but he twisted with the beat and I was in the arms of someone else. I realized with dismay everyone was changing dance partners, willingly or not was anyone's guess. I accidently stepped down hard on one man's toes, and I hastily apologized, using dizziness as an excuse to remove myself from this chaos.

I walked to a wall and looked around for Piricus. I really wanted to talk to him, and this might be the ideal time. To my frustration, I couldn't see him anywhere. I thought I caught a glimpse of a white coat around a corner to my left and I hastily made my way after it, slipping with difficulty through the mass of people. I turned the corner and didn't see Piricus, or anyone else for that matter, but I did hear the sound of hushed voices around the next corner.

It sounded like some sort of disagreement, and I wanted to make sure everything was alright so I inched closer. The voices started to take on a familiar tone. They belonged to Scorpious and Maria. I edged carefully around the corner, fully expecting Maria to notice me immediately and tell me to leave, but she didn't. When I could see, Scorpious was seated on a marble bench with Maria standing by a window next to him, looking out into the night sky.

"Don't lie to me," Maria said curtly, there was edginess to her tone.

"Maria," Scorpious began gently, "Really I'm—"

"No. No you're not and we both know it. You're not fine. And even if you hadn't almost tripped over me out there, the look on Fara's face when I handed you to her said mountains," she persisted sharply.

"It's true. I'm pretty banged up," Scorpious admitted, "but then again, I should say that's to be expected given the circumstances," he reminded gently.

"You moved your foot as if it were made of lead," Maria continued icily, turning to stare at his right boot.

"I never really was one for dancing to begin with," Scorpious continued softly. "I'm really quite clumsy when it comes down to it."

Maria growled audibly. "You aren't telling me something. I can feel it," she said as she glared back out the window. "Do you not trust me?" she said briskly after a moment.

"You know I do," Scorpious said soothingly. "I'd trust you with my life, and I have before," he promised.

"Your life is something you'd entrust to anyone, apparently," Maria started angrily. It was the first true tinge of emotion that I'd really heard from her in a while. "Did you honestly expect Piricus to not try and kill you? I know what happened out there," she hissed.

"A scuffle," Scorpious admitted without delay. "He and I had some issues that needed to be worked out," he said mildly. "I think that now that it's out of his system somewhat things have actually improved," he said with a small chuckle.

"This isn't funny," Maria hissed irritably.

Scorpious gave her turned back a forlorn look. He pressed on one of his knees, raising himself with great difficulty up about a foot so that he could move the fringes of her short ebony hair to see the ends of four long gouge marks that were still healing along Maria's back.

"Why is it that you care so much?" Scorpious asked her suddenly, with his voice going completely soft. He ran his bare hands over the edge of her injuries and Maria hastily pulled away like she was being bitten by a venomous snake.

"What are you talking about?" she snapped.

"About me," Scorpious began, being as direct as anything I'd ever heard. "What is it Maria that you're hoping I can do for you? Why are you so attached to me? When we first met I felt something in you, something that was crying out for healing. What is it that you want me to fix for you? What scars pain you still?" he asked deductively, looking at her tensed shoulders.

She didn't speak for moment afterwards. I thought she was going to jump out the window and disappear, but slowly and surely, I could see the walls of her reservations breaking down.

"I want to believe that if you could change the way you have, that I can too," she said at last with a tremble in her voice. "You killed many people on the inquisition, you said it yourself, a fact I verified with your records," she started again with an emotionally questionable voice. "You were a killer, same as me, but somehow, I don't know how, you have managed to find an inner peace with yourself over it. You act as if you were going to go directly to heaven without any doubt when you die. How can you be so sure? How can you be at peace? How did you forgive yourself?" Maria asked quietly.

"I realized that my ways were wrong and I changed them. It was a costly recognization, and the path to where I am now has not been easy at all. The people I killed, they were innocent. It's slightly different from what you do as a Viz-Jaq'Taar," Scorpious began. "Maria, I've watched what you do. You know I don't condone judging someone, but the people you've killed, like that false summoner, they were unmistakably evil and were going to harm more people. You do what you do ultimately to preserve life, it's not the same. You don't go around killing people because they don't believe the way you do, you have, if there is ever such a thing, just cause," Scorpious said gently. "You're not a rampaging, murderous monster. I'm not an expert or saint on redemption by any means, but I do believe that there is forgiveness for what you do," he added softly.

"I'm exactly like you used to be," Maria spat bitterly.

Scorpious' face dawned a soft realization. "You killed an innocent person, didn't you? That's what all of this is about," he finished gingerly.

Maria had an icy tone in the dry laugh that followed. "Yes. I did," she confessed bluntly.

"What happened?" Scorpious furthered soothingly. "Confession is the first step to forgiveness," he began.

To my surprise, Maria's entire body began to shake with emotion. "I killed a child," she choked out at last.

Scorpious' face was still kind as he waited for her to finish. "Go on," he encouraged.

I almost fell over from shock when I realized that the reason Maria was shaking was because she was crying. "My own. I killed my own child," she finished at last. "It was probably about six years ago now. I was young, and very stupid. There was a time when I believed like you do now, that people deserved a second chance. I spared the life of a mage I was sent to kill when I saw him perform an act of kindness for someone else. I spent three days watching him, and there didn't seem to be anything wrong. When it came time to deal the final blow, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. To be blunt I fell in love with him. I would see him in secret of course, because it isn't allowed. I faked an accident to look like his death you see," she cried.

"And?" Scorpious asked, willing her gently to finish.

"It was all a lie. Everything. Right from the beginning. He faked every kind thing he'd ever done, because he knew I was watching him and as it turned out, he was a real monster sent from a demonic mage clan to infiltrate our organization, and then to kill us all. He used me by pretending that he loved me, and like a moron I believed him so easily. He learned enough from me that four of their agents actually managed to get into our headquarters and kill ten of us before we realized they were even there. It was my fault they died. I was there when he came in himself and wreaked havoc on ten more people, including five children and one elder before he tried to kill me himself. The bastard set a pit lord on a five year-old," she choked. "Of course I killed him and by that point, I really didn't have a choice. Luckily for me, if you could call it that, no one had any proof of the connection between the two of us other than a botched mission on my part. It wasn't long after that I found out I was pregnant with his child," she said in anguish.

"You tried to kill yourself," Scorpious finished for her in quiet shock.

Maria completely lost her composure and was sobbing uncontrollably. "I did," she managed at last. "I was so ashamed of what I had done and cursed my existence every second of every hour for being so stupid. Twenty people died that day including one of my mentors and a good friend. It was entirely on my shoulders. And to top it off, I was completely heartbroken. The betrayal—you can't even begin to understand how I felt. And then to find out I was having this sick bastard's child, it pained me like you wouldn't believe. I hated the child and I hated myself more. There was no reason to live anymore and even if I could, I couldn't disguise being pregnant. The rest of the Viz-Jaq'Taar would have figured it out. So I drank Adder's Vice. It's the strongest poison in existence," she sobbed.

"But you're still here," Scorpious said patiently.

"I don't know how long I was out for, or even why God sought to spare my wretched life! The baby . . ." she hiccupped, "the baby absorbed all of the poison and left me completely unharmed. I had a miscarriage, but no one knew. I killed my own child and somehow I'm still alive!" she hissed in misery.

I thought Scorpious looked like he was going to cry himself. Now I understood what Maria said about her mental gift. That must have been how this mage knew she was watching him in the first place. It was an unguarded weakness.

Maria turned to face him with puffy, red eyes. "For years I didn't think there was any way to redeem myself. For years I was hopeless and in despair. And then, when I didn't think anything could help me, I met you. You who have done and seen so many of the things I have. You have killed more people in a month than I have in my life, and yet, you are at peace. You're at peace and somehow after the first crusade of Zakarum betrayed you, you can still trust in others. You give them a second chance at life and offer them redemption. How? Tell me how can you do this? Most people go insane!" she demanded desperately.

Scorpious looked her in the eyes lovingly. "The first part of being at peace with such terrible things is in forgiving yourself. I found that no matter how others forgave me or how I knew God forgave me, it didn't matter a wink if I didn't forgive myself first. Otherwise, I'd just keep blaming myself and reliving the same hell over repeatedly," he said with tenderness.

"How can I possibly?" Maria sobbed.

"You can try in knowing that it is never wrong to hope for and look for the best in others. Take Chyemme for example. Piricus has got to be one of the most misguided, hopeless people I have ever met, and yet she of all of us insists there's something there and I think she's right. And I also have an odd feeling that in the end, because she believed the best in him, it's actually going to bring it out. Maria, love is never wrong either when it's true. You had no reason to doubt him; he never gave you any indication or warning. And I know you. You're one of the smartest people I've ever met, you'd have picked up on it instantly, whether you believe that or not. And I've learned this from my experience as well: If you were not the one to plunge the blade into them, then it is not you who has committed the murder. He killed these people, Maria, not you. It is true that he may have used you indirectly to accomplish this, but the fact of the matter is he is the true killer," Scorpious said powerfully.

" And with your child, did you ever think that maybe God wanted you to live, and that's why only the child died? Did you think that he wanted you to live so you could make up for what you have done? And even if you don't believe a word of that, did you ever think that the child believed you'd done nothing wrong and was trying to protect you? Maybe that's why the child was sent to you to begin with. It may have seemed like a curse at the time, but in reality, maybe he sent the baby there to protect you and stop you from committing a murder on another innocent. Yourself," he reasoned. "And here's this as well, maybe that child was your redemption. Maybe in order to change or start to, you had to see the difference between innocent and evil," he resolved. "I know it was that way for me."

By this time, Maria had regained enough of herself to dry her eyes. "That never occurred to me," she said silently. "But now that you've said it, I think you may be right," she said softly. "You asked me why I cared," she said, drawing back on Scorpious' earlier question.

"I did," he said gently still.

"I care because to me, you are my salvation. You alone were able to help me past this. The way I see it, it was you who saved me. You saved me from myself, at first, just because you're you. It's in the way you act, and it's part of who you are. You protect other people with what you've been given. With your second chance. I want to be just like you," Maria said tenderly.

Scorpious sighed. "I think a repeat of me might be a bad idea," he said with a small smile.

"It's for this reason," Maria said hesitantly, "For this and everything else, that I love you beyond compare and I will do whatever I can to protect you," she finished at last with the unmistakable emotion of a woman in love. I'd heard that tone before.

Scorpious seemed to have done well with this up until that last part. His eyes swelled with pain, and went she tried to kiss him, he gently moved away so that he was hugging her instead.

Maria looked up in misery. "Why?" she asked meekly, a strange thing for her. "Don't you love me too?"

I don't think I've ever heard a more obvious lie in my life and it surprised me because it was coming from Scorpious' mouth of all people. He steeled himself physically, then gently pushed her away from him. "Maria, I am a paladin," he said trying to be kind, "I love you as much as I can love anyone. I will help you in whatever way I can, but for what you want in this, I can't," he said as tenderly as possible.

I expected her to lose composure, I'm sure I would have if someone I loved like that just rejected me, but Maria seemed to be full of surprises. She steeled herself as well, and nodded sharply. "You're right, as always," she said with a dead voice and in a split second, she disappeared on the spot in a swirl of mist.

_Leave now or I will kill you. Don't ever mention this to anyone, or I will kill you for that also_, I heard Maria's angry and anguished voice in my mind demand.

"Right," I whispered aloud almost silently and awkwardly made my way back to the main floor of the party. Things had keyed down a few notches, and the music seemed to be slower. I was so engrossed with everything that I didn't even notice when Ryelass came up to my side.

"Chyemme," he began.

I turned to him apologetically, "I'm sorry, Ryelass, but I need to find Piricus," I said without hesitation, "Do you know where he is?" I asked.

Ryelass scoffed. "I'm not his keeper. I haven't seen him for almost an hour," he said slightly sourly.

"He went that way," Vendra said to me simply, "probably outside," she added as she and Sovellis slowly danced by us. "Didn't he just look angelic?" she added sarcastically.

"Thanks," I said to her with a nod. "Please excuse me," I said to Ryelass and quickly made my way across the room and out the door. I focused my inner sight, trying to find him, and to my surprise, I locked onto his energy pattern quickly and followed it through a maze of halls and doors.

I finally emerged into the warm night air after the last door and found that I was in some type of garden, though it didn't really have any greenery. The scenery here was made completely from rock formations. I passed under a stacked stone archway and past a small trickling waterfall on the right, dripping into a rocky basin below. The pathway I was on was entirely cobblestone, a strange thing to see out here and the further I followed this path, the more I noticed the odd rock shapes and columns. Some were arranged to look like flowers and still others had been chiseled into stone figurines. The only live thing I passed in the rock garden was a solitary cluster of three cacti, blooming with one pink desert bloom at the top.

The walkway ended and I realized I was standing on a raised stone platform with several markings around the circular edges. A bronze, crescent moon adorned half the circle, interlocked with a half rising-sun on the other side. Between the two of them, they had a face painted on it and the two halves, sun and moon made a whole cohesive face. I noticed that the markings where related to time and that in fact, this decorated platform must have been an enormous sundial for Jerhyn's palace.

A shadow fell across the midnight mark, and I turned to see Piricus, clad in white behind me. "What is it that you want now, amazon?" he said plainly.

"I came to see you," I announced boldly, with more courage than I felt.

"And why is that?" he continued, still not amused.

"I . . ." I began as a soft melody drifted down from the throne room window above us. "I know this sounds odd, but would you like to dance with me?" I asked awkwardly. Perhaps if hell froze over he might, and then I would tell him afterwards.

He raised one white eyebrow as he looked at me skeptically. "Are you serious?" he began irritably.

"Yes, I am," I started, feeling more defiant. "Lord Jerhyn told me to make sure you did at least once, or he'd think you weren't enjoying yourself," I lied plainly.

To my surprise, he bought it. "What an imbecile," he growled. To my fortune, it was at that moment the emperor leaned across a balcony above us and waved with a small smile before heading back inside. Perfect timing.

Piricus scowled, returning to his signature expression. "Well, I don't really have a choice, seeing as how he's holding my departure over my head," he added. "Come here, amazon. Let's get this over with," he demanded.

"Piricus," I started embarrassedly. "I don't know why I'm telling you this, but I have absolutely no clue how to dance," I confessed.

Piricus snorted."Hmm. Well that explains loads, seeing as the warrior was really making you look like a total imbecile out there on the floor earlier. Well, lucky for you, amazon, I know how. And if it will get that moron royal brat off my back about this, I will teach you myself," he said snidely.

I blinked. "You just said you'd teach me. You're offering to—" I repeated, trying to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

"Come here," he insisted harshly, cutting me off.

"Right," I apologized and moved up to him. "Give me your hand and do not touch me other than what I tell you, got it?" he threatened.

"Yes," I assured.

"Now, this is the correct way this is done," he said sarcastically as step by step, touch by touch, Piricus showed me the proper placements for my hands and the correct movements. I focused intently as I tried to absorb as much of this odd dance as I could, until at last we were moving freely across the surface of the sundial. When I was starting to get more comfortable, I started to listen more to the music.

The more I listened, the more I decided that the song was perfect, just like the place and the night itself. Either I was naturally a fast learner or Piricus was a naturally good teacher. We were moving in perfect sync. Good, I laughed to myself. Yes, for all his talk he was one of the good guys, of that I am sure. In fact, Vendra had been right. All dressed in white and with his ivory hair, he looked angelic even. And I couldn't exactly deny the rest of him was attractive too . . . I snorted inwardly and put the thought of that awkwardness earlier out of my mind.

I had begun this dance by carefully watching my toes and feet, I definitely hadn't wanted to step on Piricus' toes or anything like that and let my clumsiness ruin the moment. That, and I still wasn't entire surely this was not a dream. If I fell in my dream, I might wake up.

Though, I was finding that as I grew more and more use to the movements Piricus was making, I was growing more in confidence steadily to a point that I had chosen to trust my own feet and look at him instead. He watched my every move carefully and I sighed. Did he still not trust me? Did he think I was going to plunge a dagger in his back the second he turned the other way or looked at something else? What could I do to get through to him? Then again, this was a huge breakthrough as it was. I decided that maybe if I made myself more vulnerable, it would put him at ease a little more. This was either going to work well, or backfire on me, seeing how tense he was and with that as angelic as he looked, his personality was far from divine.

You gain nothing if you risk nothing, I guess. I moved a slight bit into him and put my head on his shoulder as we danced. I could feel him stiffen and I sighed.

"I have nothing on my person that could hurt you right now," I said gently.

"I'm past the point of worrying about you, amazon," he answered with an odd tone. "If I wasn't I wouldn't be here at all," he pointed out, slightly more harsh. "And I hardly believe you are that much of an idiot, though you come pretty close sometimes."

"What are you so worried about then?" I asked, surprised by my own boldness. He usually got pretty nasty when you asked him personal questions, and I cursed myself inwardly. My damn curiosity was going to ruin the moment. I expected him to snap at me, but the response I got surprised me.

"Pray to your goddess amazon that you are not around if it happens," he said bluntly. "I myself hope I'm not around if it happens come to think of it," he said sarcastically, though that was all the response I got.

"I probably won't be if you're leaving when we hit the Kurast docks," I said, slightly sad. I knew that the day would come when he did go his separate way. As far as the others were concerned, they couldn't have been more excited, but me, I would miss him. Why I had fallen for him in the first place I would never know. Opposites attract, I guess. I wondered if it really was worth mentioning my feelings now, when I knew for certain he was going to leave. I sighed inwardly. Maybe some things were better left unsaid and my mind instantly turned to Maria and the scene I had just witnessed. I fought with myself inwardly, but at last shot the notion down.

"I will miss you," I said suddenly, for some reason I hadn't been able to stop that much from escaping my mouth.

He snorted. "Trust me, no you won't. I'm not a good person to hang around. Me, myself, and I will be all the company I ever need."

"Somehow I don't think so," I said strangely.

"Now would be a good point to stop with your sentimental mush, amazon, before I rot out your tongue," he snapped.

"Sorry," I said with a sarcastic grin of my own coming to my lips. "Omission of the truth is just as much of a sin as a lie, according to Scorpious."

He scoffed. "Amazon, that man is a moron and will be one even when he's dead, which, I might point out could happen any time now as a result of his own stupidity," he said cruelly, giving my heart a slight pain. Scorpious hadn't wanted the others to know, so I had no idea how Piricus found out. "Don't waste your life following him."

"I follow my own path, he merely walks it with me, like the others," I retorted.

"Ah, now there's a thought," he said sarcastically.

The music finally stopped, and I found myself staring into Piricus' emerald eyes. He was dangerously close to my face, we were only about an inch apart and the wind blew a stray wisp of his white hair across my cheek. My stomach began to knot, I didn't know what to expect. He had a grin on his face as he moved ever so slightly closer, though it was not cruel or sarcastic, something I never would have imagined possible for him. I leaned up closer as well.

His lips were almost touching mine when he spoke.

"Don't even think about it," he breathed, and then laughed as he pulled away from me. It was a strange sound, because it was without rudeness in the slightest. And without another word he turned and walked away with his white overcoat billowing in the desert breeze behind him.

He reached the edge of the stone archway, and without turning around he called out to me, "I wouldn't sleep too late or get too drunk. You'll miss the boat. Goodnight, Chyemme," before disappearing out of sight behind the sculpted rock.

I couldn't have been more surprised. He just used my name again, and it wasn't in a dire situation. Maybe I was growing on him. I blinked as a shooting star appeared on the horizon. I made a silent wish, and then turned to leave. Tonight was definitely a strange night for everyone and Zerae only knew what lie ahead of us.

It was well past midnight and I knew we would be returning to Yvette's house shortly. I walked back towards the main chamber, determined not to be stopped and asked to dance again. I had the best memory by far with Piricus and I was determined as a farewell gift it was going to stay that way. I was almost to the ballroom when by my misfortune I ran into another private situation. Laurella and Ryelass were standing about a foot apart having a discussion about something, Ryelass went to reply, but she didn't let him finish.

Ryelass' eyes went wide with shock as his sentence was muffled by a fierce kiss from Laurella. I was shocked too. The quiet, shy girl that I knew would never make such a bold move. Well, I was mistaken. She obviously just had.

She closed her eyes and looped her arms around his shoulders in an attempt to pull him closer. However, it seemed to me that Ryelass didn't want to get any closer than he already was. As I said before, he looked startled, and definitely uncomfortable. He didn't kiss her back and she noticed, because she opened her eyes questioningly to look at him.

His gaze was gentle when he looked at her and I could tell he cared for her greatly, but I could also tell that he didn't feel the same romantic passion for her as she did for him. I didn't need inner sight to tell me that this wasn't going to end well. Somebody was about to receive a broken heart, and no matter how gentle Ryelass would be in letting her down, Laurella was about to be in pain.

I didn't want to see that happen to her and I thought about stepping in casually and acting like I had just wandered by without any knowledge of what was going on, but I decided against it. Whether now or later, this conversation would likely have been taking place anyway. And as much as I felt for Laurella, I couldn't change the way Ryelass felt about her. This whole mess was not my place, but it was like a train wreck. For some demented reason, I couldn't look away.

Ryelass gently pushed her away, with a rueful glance.

"What's wrong?" Laurella asked emotionally, reaching for his arm.

He stepped back, maintaining the distance between them. "Laurella I . . ." he began, obviously unsure of what to say.

"Please?" she asked pitifully with her silver eyes glistening in the moonlight. "Please kiss me back," she whispered. "I promise not to be so rough, I didn't mean to startle you," she furthered.

"No," he said softly, "Laurella, I can't," he replied genuinely.

"What?" she breathed quietly in disbelief. "Why not?"

"Because it's not right. You're like a sister to me," he admitted. "I can't kiss my sister," he replied delicately. That didn't go over well at all.

"Is that what I am to you! Your sister!" she choked and raised her voice, probably without meaning to. "But—how can you possibly—you made it seem like you—" she stuttered, with tears beginning to well up in her eyes.

"Like I what?" he asked tactfully, fully willing to indulge her.

"Well, like—like you loved me!" she cried.

"But I do love you, Laurella, just not in the way that you think. I'd do just about anything for you and I'd protect you with my life," he soothed.

"Anything for me?" she mumbled bitterly. "Anything but kiss me. Anything but what I want!" she said choking on her own words and laboring to say them. "I love you Ryelass! I've loved you since the day we met! Ever since you helped me to get over the death of my sister! There's not a person alive right now that I love more than you! We're so alike you and I and after all we've been through together, how can you not love me!" she yelped, exasperated.

Ryelass looked like he was in pain too. To hurt her was hurting him. "It's true, we have been through a lot and you do mean a lot to me. But you shouldn't idolize me like you do. I'm no hero," he said softly.

"But you are! You helped kill Andariel and Duriel too! You've killed hundreds of monsters and saved many lives! You helped restore my sisters to our home! You've given Lord Jerhyn back his city and Atma back her peace! You know what happened to Marcus and you still have the courage to set things right! You are willing to fight Diablo himself to get him back, how are you not a hero?" she screamed.

"Laurella, I may have done a lot of good, but I've destroyed a lot of lives too. I've killed other people before," he admitted.

"I don't care! You must have had a good reason, you're not a killer. You don't enjoy hurting people. Helping others is what you live for," she protested, starting to hiccup, the first stage of sobbing.

"I'm not a good person to fall in love with," he said gingerly, but earnestly. "With the type of lifestyle I lead I can't promise you that I'll be alive in the next five minutes, much less that I'll live long enough to settle down with someone. And I can only imagine how much you worry about me now, even as your friend. I don't like doing that to people. I don't want anyone losing sleep over my wellbeing, or crying for me if I die," he explained.

"We could all die at any time, not just you. We're all in this together save maybe Piricus! That's why every moment is precious! That's why you should live in the now while you still can!" she stammered, a lump forming in her throat. "And I can't do what you want me to! I can't just will away my feelings for you! Please, please, I'd give anything for you to tell me that you love me too, tell me if you care, even if it's only once," she begged.

Ryelass sighed. "I just told you I did. You are a part of me, a part of my family. You're as dear to me as Alminus is and he's my best friend," he repeated.

"This isn't happening," she said as she started to tremble. "All this time and I've finally worked up the courage to tell you . . . and you—you just—is it that you find me unattractive? Is that it? Do you think I'm not beautiful?" she said as a tear slid down her cheek.

"No, no. It's not like that at all. I think you're gorgeous, but that's not the point," he coaxed gently.

"Then what is?" she asked intently as another tear fell.

"For one thing, I'm a little too old for you. There's a considerable age distance between us," he began truthfully.

"So now I'm your sister AND a little girl? Eight years isn't so bad! And I'm just as grown up as Vendra, Chyemme, or Maria! I can hold my own just as well as they can!" she rasped with a voice full of tragic emotions.

Ryelass closed his eyes and breathed slowly. "I never said that you couldn't. You're misunderstanding me. I respect you like all the rest when it comes to that stuff."

"Then what is it? There has to be something else that—no—not something—someone," she gasped as the thought seemed to occur to her. "You already have feelings for someone else," she sobbed with tears flowing freely now. "Is that it?" she yelled in misery.

For moments, Ryelass didn't say anything at all and he looked at the floor. I could tell she had been spot on with that assumption.

"Is that it? Is it? DAMN IT RYELASS LOOK AT ME!" she demanded furiously.

His olive eyes didn't waver from the floor.

"Who?" she shouted, with her fury building.

"Laurella. . ." he said quietly, clearly uncomfortable with being asked that question.

"Never mind," Laurella snapped dangerously and before he could say another word she locked eyes with him and I felt her inner sight activate. I almost coughed in surprise and disapproval, but that would have given me away. To do that, to do disrespect someone's privacy that way and use their emotional turmoil to gain access to that kind of information, was not acceptable in the least. I thought that this whole situation couldn't possible get any more awkward or any worse, but I was blatantly wrong.

"CHYEMME! YOU HAVE FEELINGS FOR CHYEMME? WHAT CAN SHE POSSIBLY HAVE THAT I DON'T?" she thundered in a mixture of hurt and rage.

This time I really did choke on my own breath and cough out loud. Both of them immediately whirled to face me.

"You," Laurella squeaked, clearly in anguish. "You were the one he was waiting for?"

I was clearly startled and I'm sure it showed in my voice. "I have no idea what you're talking about," I said quickly and truthfully. I honestly had no idea what they had been doing before I walked by or that Ryelass had been waiting for someone.

"How long have you been there and what did you hear?" Ryelass asked in dismay.

"Just that last bit," I lied. I was laughing ironically to myself in my mind. What else was going to happen before this night was over?

Laurella didn't look convinced. "You . . . the two of you . . ." she said sobbing as she looked back and forth between me and Ryelass.

"No," Ryelass said swiftly. "Laurella, please listen to me," he pleaded softly as he reached for her arm.

She pulled away sharply as if she were dodging an arrow. "Don't touch me," she hissed. "Don't you ever touch me again," she wailed and took off running with an abundance of tears in the opposite direction, trailing her dress behind her.

"Hey buddy, wha' was it ya wanted ter talk 'bout?" Alminus asked as he surfaced into view. It turned out he was the one Ryelass had been waiting for.

"GOD FUCKING DAMN IT!" Ryelass cursed loudly as he watched the distraught rogue run away. He kicked a wall next to himself and ended up stubbing his toe.

"Wha' tha hell jus' happened?" Alminus asked in confusion, eyeing the scene before him.

"That was not the damn way I wanted that to go! Now she hates me, and contrary to what she thinks that is going to hurt me a lot!" he shouted in his own misery.

"Who hates ya? Laurella? Why n' sanctuary would she hate ya, she likes ya," Alminus pointed out.

"Not anymore," Ryelass said bitterly. "I've changed my mind. Alminus, I'm just going to go home. I don't want to talk about anything tonight," he said sourly. He turned to me and softened up incredibly.

"I'm sorry you had to see that. Now she'll probably hate you too and you've done nothing wrong. I had wanted to tell you in some other way," he said shamefully. "Chyemme, I . . ." he started.

Alminus blinked. "Oh," he said simply as he immediately came to the proper conclusion. "I think I'll excuse m'self," he stated awkwardly and hastily took his leave, putting me and Ryelass alone.

"Chyemme," he began again.

"I think I should go," I said quietly. What a disaster. Now I would undoubtedly have to bear Laurella's bitterness as well. Why me? Why is it always me? I should have walked away when I saw this start to happen. Maybe if I hurried, I could catch up to Laurella and try to smooth things over. Maybe if she was rational, she'd realize I really had nothing to do with this. Maybe if I told her that I knew I loved Piricus it would help her some, but I doubted it.

"I understand. Though I'd normally enjoy your company, I'd rather be alone right now," he admitted.

"I'm sure we'll talk later," I said politely. "I'm going to see if I can't help Laurella with this misunderstanding," I replied in earnest.

"Thank you," Ryelass said appreciatively and quietly turned and walked away.

I hastened after Laurella without delay, but she had quite a head start on me. A few people called after me on my swift exit from the palace, but I didn't have time for this now. My heart skipped a beat and dropped into my chest when I heard a shrill scream from ahead of me. What in the name of the goddess was wrong now? I grabbed a handful of my dress, pulling it away from my feet and kicked off my expensive shoes. I dashed through the desert streets as fast as I was able and when I arrived at the scene, I nearly collided with a barrier of townsfolk. There was a mass commotion in the area and I could smell the blood.

"Out of the way! MOVE!" I shouted vehemently and roughly started throwing spectators aside. I almost plowed into the back of Laurella once I got to the front edge of the crowd. She was still crying, but now because of an even more unsettling event. Maria was standing over the body of the necromancer Darius, and her red dress was covered in his blood. In front of me was Piricus, snarling like an enraged dragon. I had no idea what in the name of Zerae had just happened, but it was obvious that it wasn't over. My heart dropped from my stomach to my knees as I looked around at this scene. There were assassins everywhere in addition to the stunned crowd that had amassed at the scene of this unfolding fiasco. I looked at Piricus, desperately wanting to believe that this wasn't happening and tonight had been a bad dream.

Piricus looked around the packed square venomously like a cobra that was deciding what to strike at first. He was giving off a deadly emotional radiance that even the townsfolk noticed and they instantly began backing away from him.

I was astonished by just how many assassins there were. There had to be at least thirty that I saw, and I was sure more of them were on standby somewhere that I didn't. More unsettling is that this was obviously planned, and no one, not even me and my innersight, had known they were there until they had already positioned themselves intro strategic locations and revealed themselves ready to strike.

Piricus' emotional aura suddenly became tangible. His arcane energy washed over him in a blink, sending unearthly and frightening waves of distortion around his body. I could clearly see the reflections of what seemed to be skulls shimmering within his aura. I was awestruck in the regard that he seemed to be opening up some sort of rift into another dimension. Perhaps he was going to use the souls in there. . . I prayed to Zerae that he didn't, the retaliation from these assassins would be swift and terrible.

I stepped back as I felt the very air start to corrode as poisonous rings of energy burst to life rippling across his hands. His eyes were actually glowing a stark, demonic emerald color. Every single assassin eye was watching him fiercely.

"Piricus," I said quickly, looking around at all of them. "Don't . . . " I said, feeling intimidated for him.

"Stand down necromancer or we shall cut you down. We have done what we came for, Prince Darkblade is dead," a female voice from an assassin on a roof to our right shouted.

"No," Maria said icily, silencing all other noise. "He's not. This pathetic fool was a decoy for the real one," she snarled. "Something set to distract us."

A hush fell over the crowd and through the ranks of the scattered assassins. "So we-?" I heard one ask from somewhere.

"KILLED THE WRONG PERSON!" Piricus snarled. "THAT WASN'T HIM!" he shouted, enraged. The aura around him was beginning to encroach on me and everyone else standing even remotely around him and I had a feeling that being touched by that aura would be fatal.

Maria glared Piricus down with an icy, emotionless stare. Then she spoke coldly, leveling her blood-stained katars at him.

"I know you know the true identity of Prince Darkblade, Piricus. So this," she said, giving Darius' corpse a savage and disrespectful kick, "is a message that my boss wants you to take to him. Tell him that he had better show himself soon, or we," she snarled viciously and gestured all around herself to the rest of the assassins present, "Will start hunting you necromancers down and killing every one of you we find."

Piricus was enraged beyond words, and for some reason his power seemed to be getting stronger with every passing moment, even when I thought he had reached his max much earlier. The look on Piricus' face was feral. He was obviously oblivious to everything and everyone except Maria, so I don't think he saw the reaction he was getting from the other assassins. I could sense most of them shifting about restlessly. Something was very wrong and it had nothing do with the cold-blooded murder of this necromancer that had just happened. Was this a test of some sort for Piricus? Were they baiting him? The thought did seem highly probable and I wondered for a second if they were going to attack him too.

"Piricus," I said quickly, trying desperately to recapture his attention even for a moment.

"She's right. I'd stop it if I were you," Maria said heartlessly, though she too seemed to be very interested in the power he was beginning to display. "Or we will kill you right here and add you to the list of people your bastard Prince cared nothing about. There is no way you can take on all of us and win."

He snarled savagely, and I tried desperately one last time. "PIRICUS!" I cried his name in dismay.

If he didn't stop, they really were going to attack him. I went to touch his shoulder, but instantly thought better of the idea as the tip of one of my fingernails dissolved instantly as it hit the edge of his magical aura.

"He'll kill you," Maria said to me apathetically, as if she had never seen me before a day in her life and I was some stranger on the street. It hurt to be honest; I had always considered her to be my friend. Just what had gone so wrong? Didn't she and Scorpious just have a talk about redemption and forgiveness? She had been ashamed that she had taken an innocent life earlier, now it was like she had flipped a switch to an entirely different Maria. She had just killed this innocent man for pretty much no reason at all. And to think, they would start hunting down more people that hadn't done anything. Just how bad was Prince Darkblade? How dangerous was he that these assassins were willing to sacrifice their beliefs and codes of honor? No, something was extremely wrong and things were still getting worse.

Piricus seemed to have taken notice of me at last, he looked around himself and I guess logic started to win out over fury. Maria was right, there were simply too many of them to take on at once. His magical aura lingered for a moment before fading, though hellfury was still burning in his eyes.

Piricus took one last calculating look around, staring ruthlessly into the faces of the assassins before settling his demonic gaze on Maria and her blood-tainted katars. He didn't yell and he didn't curse them. His voice was powerful and eerie when he spoke and it sent chills up my spine.

"You will all pay dearly for this, I swear it," he vowed with an even voice in deadly sincerity. "Every last one of you," he added dangerously and in a blink, he melded back into the stunned crowd and out of sight before any of them had time to react.

I could only stare at the scene in shock. I saw a face I recognized across from me at the edge of the crowd on the other side of the square. Scorpious had been watching this calamity as well. He looked to me like someone had just run him through, the utter shock and disbelief still lingered on his face like puddles after a storm. The shocked expression soon gave way to a sorrowful one, the likes of which I had only seen from him once before.

Maria seemed to have noticed his presence at the same time I did, we both were looking at him. He shook his head painfully after meeting her gaze and swiftly turned away, disappearing through the crowd in the other direction. Maria turned her head sharply away and let out a "Tsh," sounding hiss. Did she know that he was dying? My heart was aching for Scorpious, whom I was so sure loved her in return. But Maria had to have known that such a thing could not happen, just by the very nature of their work. He was of the church, and sworn never to marry, and she was an assassin, they were also forbidden to get romantically involved with anyone.

What had she been hoping for? Somehow, I think that part of the reason this whole event had happened was the pain she felt in his rejection. Was this her revenge? To strike an innocent person to get back at him? It was a very real and very human possibility, but then again, I didn't think one person's vengeance would have been enough to draw out all the rest of the Viz-Jaq'Taar. And Maria herself said that her "boss" ordered this. What the hell was going on?

In a blink, I noticed the assassins start to move. Shadows cloaked the areas they had been only moments ago and when they cleared, the mage-slayers were gone.

"Maria! Where are you going?" Laurella called out, clearly hysterically upset. If she hadn't been traumatized already, she definitely was now.

"Don't worry," she said emotionlessly, lingering a moment longer to look at the stunned two of us. "You will see me again, of that I can assure you," she vowed and in a swirl of black shadows, she was gone as well. In the moonlight I saw a refraction of light, like a diamond, fall to the earth where Maria had been only a split second ago. It took me a minute to realize it as I watched the diamond fall to the earth, but the gem-like object was a tear. The one, insignificant drop of moisture quickly faded into the ground, becoming lost forever in the sands of ages.

To be continued . . . .!


End file.
